(Oklahoma City) Quebecer Luguentz Dort scored six points in the second overtime and the Oklahoma City Thunder erased a 23-point deficit to defeat the Toronto Raptors 135-127 on Sunday.
Dort made a three-pointer to give the Thunder a 121-118 lead. He then nailed another shot from downtown to make it 127-123 moments later. He totaled 22 points for the entire game, as did Chet Holmgren.
It was the Thunder’s eighth win in 10 games, while the Raptors lost seven times in eight games.
“They put us in an uncomfortable situation in the first half,” admitted Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault.
“You never know how a team is going to play you, so it took us a while to adjust. It was an awesome show of confidence from our team to go out on the field and win that game. »
Josh Giddey scored 24 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 23. Aaron Wiggins scored 20 points to help the Thunder improve to 35-15. The local favorites also tied a team record with 23 three-pointers in 63 attempts.
RJ Barrett led the charge for the Raptors with 23 points. Former Thunder Dennis Schroder, as well as Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl, totaled 19 points.
“We were playing on the road against a very good team,” commented Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic. I thought we did an excellent job in the first half, both offensively and defensively.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who was held to fewer than 30 points for the first time in 10 games, tied the game at 118-118 at the end of the first extra period. He then blocked a Gary Trent shot at the very end to deprive the Raptors of the victory.
Wiggins brought the teams back to an even score at 110-110 with 4.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter and Barrett missed a three-pointer on the final play.
The Thunder missed 18 of 25 three-point attempts in the first half and trailed by 16 points after 24 minutes of play. The Raptors led 76-53 in the third quarter before the Thunder scored 17 of 19 points following.
Barrett was questionable for this match due to inflammation in his left knee. He had missed his team’s last three games.
The Thunder were without Jalen Wiliams and Isiah Joe.
The Raptors return to action on Monday when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans.