The Oklahoma City Thunder needed a win and badly.
Coming off a 73-point loss ot the Memphis Grizzlies — the worst loss in NBA history — and the Thunder's eighth in a row, they welcomed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey back into the lineup, pulling off a 114-103 win over the Detroit Pistons after trailing by as many as 18 points.
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Gilgeous-Alexander made his presence felt with a 30-point and career-high 13-assist performance, but it was the play of Luguentz Dort that helped shift the balance for OKC.
Dort has made his name as a defensive specialist and earlier this week Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard mentioned the Canadian among his top three perimeter defenders in the league.
Tonight against the Pistons, he showed that his offensive game is quickly catching up to his defence, dropping 28 points on 9-of-19 from the field, knocking down five 3-pointers — one shy of the entire Thunder starting lineups output against the Grizzlies.
SW33T LU pic.twitter.com/nNVgaix4hl
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 7, 2021
Dort's five triples also ties his season-high in makes.
His continued improvement from the 3-point line is a major factor in him blossoming into the Thunder's second-leading scorer, with his 54 made 3s on the season a team-high, which is also good for 39th in the league — more than players like Devin Booker, Luka Doncic and Joe Ingles.
Considering he shot 29.7 percent from downtown in his rookie season on 2.8 attempts, to now knocking down 33.5 percent on 7.3 attempts, his confidence shooting the ball has opened up so much more of his game.
“It’s been impressive, but not surprising,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said of Dort’s offensive growth. “Nothing he does surprises me at this point. It’s just who he is.
“He sees everything as a challenge. When he faces adversities or struggles, he frames them in a really, really optimistic way. He just puts his head down and works.”
Lu Dort finishes through contact for OKC 💪🏾 pic.twitter.com/Ud4utkHSMl
— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 7, 2021
The Thunder dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Pistons 42-22, their highest scoring quarter of the season, with Dort playing a huge role in their surge as they connected on 17-of-19 shots, including 13 straight makes.
Dort scored 11 of his 28 in the final frame on 4-of-4 shooting and 2-of-2 from deep adding two steals. Across his last 15 games, Dort is putting up 19.6 points and 4.1 rebounds on 46.6 percent from the field, 37.0 percent from the 3-point line and 84.6 percent at the free throw line.
In that span, he's had seven 20-point games and a season-high 34 against the Houston Rockets.
Dort and his fellow Canadian Gilgeous-Alexander will be looking to build on tonight's momentum when they return to Canada Wednesday night to take on the Raptors, before Friday's matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers — who they have already beaten twice this season.
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