West leaders OKC Thunder vow to keep improving, turn to face Detroit Pistons in NBA
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder attempts a basket against Payton Pritchard of the Boston Celtics during the fourth quarter at the TD Garden.
PHOTO: AFP
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DETROIT – The Oklahoma City Thunder qualified for the National Basketball Association (NBA) play-offs with their latest victory. Their aim now is to play at a peak level when the post-season begins in April.
The Thunder (54-12) will visit the Detroit Pistons on March 15 (March 16, Singapore time) after defeating Boston 118-112 on the defending champions’ home floor on March 12.
Oklahoma City have an 11.5-game lead in the Western Conference but do not want any slippage in the coming weeks.
“We have a lot to get better at,” star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said.
“To play the final game of the season in late June is a long, long way away. I would hope we’re not playing our championship basketball (now).
“I hope we get – how many months is that? Three? I guess we have three months to get better now. I hope we get better and are playing way better basketball than we are now.”
It would be difficult for Gilgeous-Alexander to do much more. The top candidate for the league’s Most Valuable Player is averaging a league-best 32.8 points, 6.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 52.5 per cent from the field.
For the team, defeating Boston twice this season carried special meaning, especially for their championship hopes.
“It’s huge,” Gilgeous-Alexander added. “Because (the Celtics have) done it, because they’ve done what we’re trying to do...
“They achieved what we are trying to accomplish, and there’s no better test in the NBA.”
The next test comes against the much-improved Pistons (37-30), who were kicking themselves after losing at home to lottery-bound Washington 129-125 on March 13. Detroit had defeated the Wizards by 20 points two nights earlier.
“We didn’t get back in transition. I think they had 20 fast-break points in the first half,” Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.
“We allowed them to believe. When you give any NBA team belief, on any given night anybody can win.”
According to backup centre Isaiah Stewart, the Pistons went into the game overconfident and would be hoping not to repeat their mistake against the Thunder.
“From the start of the game, we didn’t take this matchup as serious,” he said. “We didn’t play Detroit basketball (on Thursday)
“We allowed them to stay in the game, gave them confidence and that hurt us. It hurt us and we ended up losing.”
The game within the game on March 15 will feature a matchup between Gilgeous-Alexander and Detroit All-Star guard Cade Cunningham. The latter is averaging 31.7 points and 8.2 assists over the last six games, including a 38-point, 10-assist outing against Washington.
The Thunder will likely be without All-Star forward Jalen Williams. He missed the Celtics showdown with a hip strain.
Meanwhile, on March 14, the Cleveland Cavaliers romped to a franchise-record 16th straight victory, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 133-124 to extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference. Cleveland (56-10) now lead the second-placed Celtics by 8.5 games.
Boston bounced back from their home defeat by Oklahoma City with a 103-91 road victory against the Miami Heat that officially booked their play-off ticket.
REUTERS, AFP
