OKLAHOMA CITY — For the second consecutive game, head coach Mark Daigneault watched Lu Dort connect on four threes to help the Oklahoma City Thunder seal a victory. Dort broke out of a shooting slump in Monday's 126-109 blowout win against the New Orleans Pelicans before making three of his four triples in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's 113-99 victory against the Sacramento Kings.
After the win, Daigneault addressed how Dort's shooting impacted the Thunder's offense when it mattered most against the Kings.
“He's got a confidence that kind of transcends the circumstance of a game,” Daigneault said. “He'll step in and make a big shot at the most unpredictable time. Tonight was a good example. He made big shots tonight when it felt like we really needed it.”
Dort finished with 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting, including 4-for-8 from deep, four rebounds, one block, and one steal. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (33 points) recorded his 12th 30+ point performance on 12-of-24 attempts, eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Chet Holmgren added 21 points, seven rebounds, three blocks, and one steal.
After scoring four threes in the Thunder's previous two wins, Dort was a combined 8-for-14 from behind the 3-point arc.
Mark Daigneault on Lu Dort's ‘breakout' shooting for Thunder
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault revealed how Lu Dort's confidence has been the key to unlocking his early-season slump, and he wasn't exaggerating after watching his veteran guard drain eight threes in two games. As the defending champion Thunder extend its best start in franchise history, Dort has been a part of it.
“He's got great confidence — unwavering. I thought what was positive about that was that they started Missi on him,” Daigneault said. “They cross-matched him to start the game, which is another thing that we'll see, and that he's seen in the past. He went out there and shot the ball with confidence, which I think can shove some doubt into the opponents' game plan when they're doing something like that.
While Dort is averaging 7.8 points and 4.4 rebounds through nine games, he's still shooting below 30% from three (27.3%), while slowly finding his offensive rhythm to help the Thunder close out wins.
