Player grades: Thunder scrape by Warriors in ugly 104-97 win

· Yahoo Sports

Visit truewildgame.com for more information.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Lowering his shoulders, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander eyed Draymond Green one-on-one. In a matchup between the reigning MVP and former DPOY winner, OKC's superstar went with his signature stepback 3-pointer to hit the dagger.

The Oklahoma City Thunder avoided an upset in their 104-97 win over the Golden State Warriors. Not the prettiest journey to get there, but you never apologize for a victory.

Considering the talent gap, the Thunder had this in the bag. On paper, at least. Even without Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler III, the Warriors have shown they can hold their own against the heavyweights — even with a bench filled with mostly G League players.

The game got ugly from the jump. The Thunder had a 34-28 lead after the first quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander tried to shake off some cobwebs. Creating some breathing room, they had a 12-4 run in the second frame to open up a 46-37 lead with a little under eight minutes to go. Brooks Barnhizer went with an off-hand floater to build the lead.

The Thunder scored 33 points in the third quarter. They entered halftime with a 67-54 lead. Gilgeous-Alexander reached double-digit points. So did Isaiah Joe and Kenrich Williams. While they left some meat on the bone, they were in firm control over the Warriors — who lacked any real scoring talent.

The second half was a much different story, though. The Thunder dried up on offense. To pretty extreme levels. Once Gilgeous-Alexander realized he didn't have it going, the rest of the OKC squad panicked to generate ball movement.

Pat Spencer went with the spin-move layup. That cut OKC's lead to single-digit points. Uh oh. The Warriors had a 17-4 run to get back into things. Malevy Leons invoked some revenge as his 3-pointer tied things up at 77 points apiece. The Thunder only mustered 19 points in the third frame. They dearly held onto an 86-83 lead.

With Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench, Jaylin Williams and Aaron Wiggins hit some big-time 3-pointers to start the final frame. That gave the Thunder a 92-83 lead just one minute in. And considering how far and few in-between scores came, a nine-point lead felt like 29 at that juncture.

The Thunder kept their distance. Isaiah Joe knocked down three free-throw attempts when Gilgeous-Alexander checked in. They had a 99-90 lead with a little over five minutes to go. They held on to that the rest of the way. The Warriors responded with seven straight in a snail-pace run.

Up 99-97 with two minutes to go, Gilgeous-Alexander finally ended a run of missed shots. He went with the dagger 3-pointer. That put OKC ahead 102-97 with 42 seconds left. The Warriors couldn't answer back the rest of the way. Kristpas Porzingis tried to foul-bait. Golden State was scoreless for the final two minutes. The Thunder had 18 points in the final frame.

The Thunder shot 42% from the field and went 15-of-42 (35.7%) from 3. They shot 23-of-24 on free throws. They had 24 assists on 33 baskets. Three Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 27 points and five assists. Joe had 18 points and four rebounds. Williams finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Warriors shot 41% from the field and went 14-of-45 (31.1%) from 3. They shot 11-of-18 on free throws. They had 28 assists on 36 baskets. Three Warriors players scored double-digit points.

Gui Santos tallied 22 points and 11 rebounds. Green had 16 points, five assists and four rebounds. Brandin Podziemski finished with 17 points and six assists.

Well, ABC got the shortend of the stick with its Saturday primetime matchup. The Thunder remain without several top names. This devolved into a Gilgeous-Alexander and friends rotation. Meanwhile, the Warriors are as beat up as you could be at this point in the season. No Curry, Butler III, plus more really thinned out their rotation.

That said, the Thunder did just enough to squeeze by for the much-needed win to keep pace with the San Antonio Spurs. With a month left in the regular season, it's just about getting wins — no matter how ugly or pretty they are. This probably shouldn't have been as close as it was, but you don't take a victory for granted in the NBA.

Let's look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-minus

As soon as Gilgeous-Alexander received the ball, Gary Payton II had several teammates join him. Porzingis and more turned into magnets as the reigning MVP went downhill. He went up for the Statue of Liberty blue-collar driving layup as it was the most space he created.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 27 points on 6-of-15 shooting, five rebounds and five assists. He shot 1-of-4 from 3 and went 14-of-15 on free throws. He also had one steal and one block.

Most times, Gilgeous-Alexander makes getting to 27 points as effortless as rolling out of bed. On rare instances, though, you can tell how much he's laboring to get to that point total. Count tonight toward the latter basket. Give credit to the Warriors — they drummed up a solid defensive gameplan against the reigning MVP.

Anytime Gilgeous-Alexander was near the ball, several Golden State defenders went his way. With Green directing traffic, the 27-year-old took a minute to get going. He only had 12 points in the first half. Eventually, the Warriors' defense melted as he had 10 points in the third frame.

Desperately needing buckets, Gilgeous-Alexander stepped up in crunch time. We know about the big-time stepback 3-pointer he hit. But he also sealed things at the free-throw line — as a sleepy OKC crowd gathered up enough energy to synchronize an MVP chant.

While the jumper didn't fall at the efficient clip we're used to, Gilgeous-Alexander figured out other ways to get his points. Mostly by having a busy night at the free-throw line. That's the trade-off if you're the Warriors by wanting to play a physical brand of defense. The reigning MVP has figured out ways to slither through seams to absorb contact.

Not the sexiest way to extend his historic 20-point streak, but Gilgeous-Alexander did just enough to carry the Thunder across the finish line despite missing six of their seven best players. The C squad was just enough to outlast Golden State's equivalent.

Isaiah Joe: B-plus

Setting his feet near the tail-end of OKC's mid-court logo, Joe caught Cason Wallace's pass. He launched the deep 3-point attempt that resulted in three free-throw attempts as Pat Spencer evaded his landing space. The 26-year-old once again stepped up.

Joe finished with 18 points on 5-of-12 shooting, four rebounds and three assists. He shot 2-of-7 from 3 and went 6-of-6 on free throws.

Considering who was out, the Thunder fully leaned into small-ball. Joe received the start. That put Lu Dort as the power forward. While the outside jumper didn't fall, he flexed his ability to be a three-level scorer. A mid-range jumper and a couple of drives to the cup showed he could do more than just be a spot-up guy.

Joe had eight points in the first quarter. That probably explains why it was OKC's highest-scoring frame. Part of their ball-movement-heavy offense, his nonstop motor helped him find lanes to get easy buckets. And while his outside shots didn't fall, Golden State respected his range.

On a night where the Thunder desperately needed points, Joe stepped up as their second-best scorer. Over the last month, he's shown he can add more to his plate — something you've rarely seen in all of his years in OKC. That's one of the silver linings to how plagued they've been this season.

Kenrich Williams: B

Getting Santos to bite on the fake pass, Williams drove through an open lane. He powered through Green to get the driving layup. The 31-year-old once again stepped up as he was pushed toward the forefront of the Thunder's rotation.

Williams finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, seven rebounds and one assist. He shot 2-of-4 from 3 and went 1-of-1 on free throws.

Scoring possessions up for grabs, Williams gladly filled his plate to the top. He hung around the rim to get plenty of easy looks. He also cashed in on a couple of catch-and-shoot looks from beyond the perimeter. All of his points came in the first half as the Thunder built up a double-digit cushion.

While the Thunder struggled to generate points, Williams helped the defense compensate. The Warriors were equally as bad — if not worse. No Curry was there to bail them out at the end of bad possessions. The best isolation scorer was probably Spencer. That's how dire it was.

It's been an awesome season for Williams. Injuries have carved out a rotation spot most nights. And on games like these, his contributions don't go unnoticed. The 31-year-old is a luxury as a third-string forward who can soak up frontcourt minutes when needed.

Jaylin Williams: C

Waiting for traffic to clear, Williams went with the daring outside jumper. He swished in the look as the Thunder built up a double-digit lead with a monstrous second quarter. The 23-year-old continues to be the textbook handyman for the Thunder — being able to fill in whatever role is needed.

Williams finished with nine points on 3-of-7 shooting, 14 rebounds and four assists. He shot 3-of-6 from 3.

While the scoring wasn't there, Williams helped out in other ways. He cleaned up the glass. The Thunder needed him to step up on the boards as the starting center with Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein out. The rebounding difference wasn't as loud as it could've been small-ball OKC.

The Thunder tried to glue together an offense with Williams' playmaking. Let's just say the results weren't as pretty as they usually are. He committed six turnovers as he missed on the tiny windows he usually fills. The ball movement was there, but it just wasn't as crisp as it usually is.

Nonetheless, Williams helped the Thunder get this much-needed win. The 23-year-old has been the perfect third-sting center. He's completely fine with being outside of the rotation and has shown the ability to scale up when they need him to play serious minutes. Can't ask for much more.

Highlights:

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder scrape by Warriors in ugly 104-97 win

Read full story at source