Marc Daigneault applauds player who ‘broke out’ OKC’s 126-point offense against Pelicans

In response to Oklahoma City ThunderHistoric 49-point first quarter in Monday’s 126-109 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, head coach Mark Daigneault distinguished veteran Lou Dort‘s elite shooting. Dort connected on four 3-pointers in the opening frame and finished with 17 points like The Thunder’s best start to the regular season continues. Oklahoma City’s 49 points are the most in a quarter in franchise history.

After the win, Daigneault talked about the Thunder’s defensewhich led to a offense of great force which they set up tone during the first quarter.

“Just great focus and preparation to start the game that way — on both ends of the floor — I thought we were really into it,” Daigneault said. “We came in and came out of our best basketball tonight, but we certainly played our best basketball early to start the third.”

Dort’s four 3-pointers helped the Thunder lead by 25 points (49-24) in the second quarter. He finished 5-for-9 from the floor, 4-of-6 from deep. Oklahoma City connected on 17 of 42 (40.5%) from three.

“He’s got a lot of confidence — unwavering. I thought the positive thing about it was that they threw Missy at him,” Daigneault said. “They crossed him to start the game, which is another thing we’re going to see that he’s seen in the past. He came out and shot the ball with confidence, which I think can put doubt in the opposition’s game plan when they do that.

“And he also hasn’t shot the ball very well this year. So I was happy to get him out tonight and shoot well. He looked like he had a great rhythm.”

Chet Holmgren led the Thunder with 26 points and nine rebounds. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 23 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 3-for-5 from deep, eight assists and three steals, and Isaiah Hartenstein added 16 points, six assists and four steals.

The Thunder improved to 14-1.

The Thunder connected on 40% from three in the win against the Pelicans

While Mark Denot and the defending champion The Thunder are on pace for the best record in NBA history, Monday’s win against the Pelicans was one of the few games in which they shot 40% or better from behind the 3-point arc. The Thunder are in the top 10 with the lowest 3-point shooting percentage (34.8%) this season, which should improve for a team that shot 37.4% from deep in 2024-25.

Isaiah Joe, the Thunder’s most efficient 3-point shooter this season, connected on 4-of-10 from behind the arc against the Pelicans on Monday as his impressive streak of making at least one 3-pointer in every game this season continued. Joe has combined for nine triples in his last three outings.