OKC punishes Jazz with eye-popping bench production

The Oklahoma City ThunderThe bench production helped complete the comeback with 18 points to improve to 16-1 in a 144-112 NBA Cup win against the Utah Jazz. After a 30-2 run, the Thunder’s bench scoring reached a historic 71 points, which the second most in franchise history.

Jaylin Williams’ 15 points on a career-high five 3-pointers set the tone offensively, as Isaiah Joe connected on four 3-pointers and finished with three assists and two steals. Williams and Joe also made their presence felt on the defensive side of the floor, where Alex Caruso (11 points, three assists) and Ajay Mitchell (12 points, two steals) disrupted the Jazz’s offensive rhythm.

Thunder head coach Marc Daigneault’s second unit helped hold the Jazz to 20 points in the third quarter, but for him, the second unit’s impact started late in the first quarter and carried over into the second.

“I thought J-Will, I-Joe, Caruso, Ajayi — those guys came into the game and stepped it up and got the game back to a stable place, which allowed us to just keep going the rest of the game,” Dayno said. “I thought those were two very key things tonight.”

The Thunder led by 22 points (110-88) at the end of the third quarter and never looked back at the Jazz. Oklahoma City’s bench is averaging 38.5 points per game this season, which ranks sixth in the NBA.

However, the Thunder’s second unit should grow when All-Star Jaylen Williams makes his regular season debut and Aaron Wiggins, who is averaging 14.8 points per game, returns from a thigh injury. Wiggins has missed the previous eight games and is the second leading scorer behind Mitchell (15.9 points).

Alex Caruso makes an open statement about the Thunder

Thunder veteran Alex Caruso believes he leads the best bench in the NBA and wasn’t afraid to make that statement amid his team’s best start in franchise history. The Thunder’s depth kept the defending champions afloat between injuries to three All-Star starters in Jaylen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Lou Dort through the first 17 games of the regular season.

Caruso says the Thunder’s top five bench players could compete with any other team’s second unit.

“I think whoever we put out — regardless of who’s in the lineup and who’s out — our second 5 is better than any other 5 in the league,” Caruso said. “I say that humbly. Obviously, that’s no disrespect to anybody, but that’s the confidence I have in myself and my teammates.

“We play with that confidence when we’re out there, and a lot of it is the energy we play with, the connection on defense, and then our ability to make random plays on offense with Shai. But also, when Shai comes off the floor and even saying that, we’re missing some guys to start the year.”

Caruso, along with Ajay Mitchell and Cason Wallace, who starts in place of Williams but often bolsters the Thunder’s second unit, defends at a higher level than most opposing teams’ bench players. Plus, head coach Mark Daigneault has options with Jaylin Williams, a stretch center, who can defend the pick-and-roll and mix with Isaiah Hartenstein or Chet Holmgren.