Faced with pressure from the Thunder, a turnover fest for the Clippers

« Before the match we talked about not losing the ball. “The instructions conveyed by Tyronn Lue and his staff, when he goes challenge the Thunder on their floorit looks like height after the fact. Because if his team ended up exploding against the reigning champion, for a final loss of 21 units (122-101), it was precisely because of these turnovers.

« I didn’t like the way we started the match, so we have to do better. We can adapt », notes Jaylen Williams, whose training took a little time to find its rhythm in this part. But, as always, the Thunder’s offense fed off the defensive activity.

OKC made the difference late in the third quarter with a 13-0 run thanks to interceptions. Pass line intercepted by Alex Caruso, another ball easily stolen by the same man, Ajay Mitchell came to take two Ivica Zubac, two others were denied by Shai Giljus-Alexander… On six possessions in a row, OKC stole five balls and offered themselves as many opportunities to punish on the counter.

Clumsy in the game, Cason Wallace was the main interceptor (5), ahead of Alex Caruso (4). In all, Oklahoma City had 19 steals. This season’s record for this team ranks second, behind the Suns, in the ranking of teams with the most crosses (10.6 per game).

The best team in stoppages

« The intensity and pressure really increased. Especially in the second quarter, maybe we didn’t have the interceptions to show for it, but we were just a little behind the ball in the first quarter. And obviously, we set the tone from the start in the third, but this group at the end of the third quarter was exceptional », qualifies Marc Daigneault.

His team lost just 9 turnovers against… 29 on the Clippers side, including 6 each for Chris Dunn and Kobe Sanders. The result: a difference of more than 20 units in points scored on the counterattack (38-17). Thunder is here the best team in the league to feed off his opponent’s loose balls offensively (25.5 points).

« We were connected and we did a good job of playing hard. We did not allow them to perform all the actions they wanted and position themselves wherever they wanted. We made them play on our terms », analysis by Chet Holmgren.

Tyronn Lue, whose team seemed lost at the end of the third quarter despite two timeouts caught in the middle of the storm, can hardly argue otherwise.

« They can defend in all five positions. There is no weak link on the field. They put pressure on you, force you to accelerate, attack the dribble and challenge loose balls. Once you lose the ball to them, it’s just too hard to get back “, regrets the coach, who saw only damage.