After a pair of blowout losses in the wake of three starters being lost for an extended period due to injuries, the Oklahoma City Thunder have won three games in a row entering Saturday night’s home matchup against the Washington Wizards.
One of the biggest reasons for the Thunder’s success has been Ajay Mitchell, who scored a career-high 35 points in Friday’s 31-point blowout win in Memphis.
The third-year guard is averaging 26 points, shooting 56.6% from the field, and has 10 assists and just three turnovers during the winning streak.
In the 128-97 win over the Grizzlies, the lead for Oklahoma City did not dip below 20 points in the second half. The Thunder have led for the entire second half in each of their last two victories.
“We talk about a 48-minute game every single game,” Mitchell said. “Every single minute we’re out there — whoever’s out there — we’ve got to give it our best shot and just do everything to keep building that lead and then stay up.”
Since Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s NBA-record streak of scoring at least 20 points ended at 141 games in the second game of the season, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player has averaged more than 31.4 points per game.
The Thunder have won eight consecutive games against the Wizards, with Washington’s last win over Oklahoma City coming in January 2022.
In those eight wins, Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 34.1 points and has scored less than 30 points just once.
One of the biggest adjustments to the loss of Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace for the Thunder has been on the defensive end.
The Thunder’s defensive approach has shifted some in the wake of the injuries but has been effective during the three-game winning streak.
“As a team, we know we’ve got to be all five together on defense and create ways to stop teams, and I think we’re doing a great job of that,” Mitchell said of the defensive approach. “… We’re all getting better with every experience we get.”
The Thunder are holding opponents to an NBA-low average of 36.9 points in the paint entering Saturday’s action, while Washington is tied for third in the league with 52.2 ppg in the paint.
“I think our team is built to play in the paint and play to our strength, score at the rim, free-throw attempts,” Wizards coach Brian Keefe said. “I want us taking efficient shots. … Everyone’s got a different formula. We’re figuring out what works best for us.”
Both teams are in the bottom four in the league in 3-point attempts.
A night after his first visit to Atlanta as a visiting player, the Wizards’ Trae Young will make his first visit to his home state with the Wizards.
Young had 23 points and 10 assists in Friday’s 139-132 loss in Atlanta.
The Wizards have dropped back-to-back games and four of their last six overall.
