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Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault guided his team to a 125-96 win against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Thunder defeated the Bucks without All-Star Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, and Alex Caruso. However, Milwaukee competed without superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard in the blowout loss at the Paycom Center.
After the game, Daigneault mentioned the caveat in beating the Bucks, even though the Thunder were without one of their All-Stars, and two other rotation guys.
“With their main guys being out, I do think it's worth noting they're in Portland; then they travel to San Antonio on that trip. They go up, play a home game against Memphis, and come back down here on a back-to-back,” Daigneault said. “I can understand why they sat those guys. It's still a byproduct of the in-season tournament. It condenses both sides of the schedule and the outside of that. It's a tough game. But it's a much different team without those guys.”
The Thunder adapted quickly in the first quarter and pulled away.
“They were much more movement-oriented and faster in the first half. And that's why I was impressed,” Daigneault added. “I thought we really kind of calibrated to the game. We didn't know exactly what the game was going to feel like because they don't play with that crew very often. I thought the guys were in their pocket. We had good pursuits.”
Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 of his 34 points in the opening frame, where Oklahoma City outscored Milwaukee 39-22. Ousmane Dieng led the bench with 21 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, and Isaiah Joe finished with 18 points, including five threes.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander mentions Kobe in tribute to Thunder fans
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Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has seen Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sign many autographs during pregame. It hasn't gone unnoticed, especially before home games at the Paycom Center.
“I used to be a kid and wanted autographs,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And I just think if I had a chance to get Kobe Bryant's autograph, for example, as a kid, I'd do anything for it. So, I try to take a few minutes to make a kid's dream come true.”
After many times, it's become part of his pregame routine.
“It just became part of it,” Gilgeous-Alexander added. “And I feel like once I do it, and the group of kids, group of people that come, they're coming with the expectation of getting an autograph. I try not to let them down.”
The Thunder's homestand continues against the Suns on Wednesday.
