On January 18, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Lone Ranger played at home against the Thunder. Previously, the Lone Ranger's record was 24 wins and 19 losses, ranking fifth in the West, and the Thunder record was 14 wins and 28 losses, ranking second from the bottom in the West. Today's game, the two teams are very competitive, the Lone Ranger in the first quarter to open the double digits difference, has been dragged by the Thunder, the two sides in the 10-point difference range into a tug-of-war. In the third quarter, the Thunder occupied the absolute initiative, constantly narrowing the point difference, playing until the fourth quarter Alexander led the team to chase only 2 points, but in the last 2.5 seconds, the Thunder sideline serve was directly snatched by Hardaway Jr., and the Lone Ranger beat the Thunder 104-102 thrillingly, bombing down a three-game winning streak.
Stats, on the Thunder side, Alexander had 34 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, Kiddy 10 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and Dort had 18 points and 7 rebounds. On the Lone Rangers' side, Doncic had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists on 4-of-17 shooting, Brunson had 14 points, five rebounds and eight assists, Hardaway Jr. had 12 points and five rebounds, Powell had 10 points and four rebounds, Porzingis had 13 points and 8 rebounds, and Fanny Smith had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The opening lone ranger entered the state early, Porzingis suddenly shot 7 points in a row, the Thunder only Hadte hit a three-pointer, the suspension came back, Kleber hit another three points, Doncic also attacked and killed, and the Thunder called two suspensions in just 4 minutes. In the middle, the Thunder relied on Earl and Dolt to hit consecutive three-pointers, coupled with Kiddy's counterattack, a wave of catch-up with the Lone Ranger, but Kleber and Doncic responded with 5 consecutive points, Fanny Smith hit a three-pointer at the end of the quarter, Powell stood on the free throw line consecutively, and after the first quarter, the Lone Ranger led the Thunder 33-24.
Back in the second quarter, Dort and Kiddy hit hard to close the gap, and after Josh Green and Bo Shen responded, both teams fell into a scoring drought at the same time. It wasn't until Alexander broke the deadlock with free throws in the second half that Wiggins and Earl led the team to narrow the gap, With Finnie Smith scoring three points and Doncic and Powell scoring consecutive points to re-widen the gap to double digits. At the end of the half, the Lone Ranger led the Thunder 53-42.
Back in the second half, Beziley dunked, Kleber shot in, Doncic and Bo Shen scored 5 points to stop the Thunder, Fanny Smith and Hardaway Jr. rained three points, Porzingis threw herself, Finnie Smith hit another three points, and the Lone Ranger pulled a 22-point gap! At the crucial moment, Alexander responded with a 5-point shot inside and outside, Kiddy and Wiggins hit three consecutive three-pointers, Alexander broke through to create a kill, and the Thunder responded with a wave of 22-2 climax! Trebock's three-pointer at the end of the quarter helped the Lone Ranger stop the bleeding, and after the third quarter, the Lone Ranger led the Thunder 77-72.
In the fourth quarter of the showdown, Doncic and Brunson scored consecutively from the basket, the Thunder Jerome responded with three points, and Wiggins and Hardaway scored three points. In the middle of alexander and Muscara blossomed inside and outside, in the decisive moment, Dort countered the dunk, Mann and Alexander counterattacked back consecutively, and in the last 20 seconds of the game, the Lone Ranger led by 2 points, Hadaway Jr. made one of two free throws, and Doncic assisted Green to eat the pie. Alexander dunked, Jerome hit another three points, Lone Ranger Green missed two free throws, giving the Thunder a chance to kill, and in the last 2.5 seconds, the Thunder served from the sideline, Andy's pass was snatched by Hardaway Jr., the game ended, and the Lone Ranger narrowly beat the Thunder 104-102.
To be honest, the Thunder look weak, and it's actually really hard to fight. Although the Thunder ranks low, but the winning content is high, the double kill reverses the Lakers, the big win over the Nets, the reverse Nuggets, the reverse Grizzlies, it is simply a strong team killer. The same is true for today's game, the Lone Ranger once pulled away a 22-point difference in the third quarter, and it didn't expect the Thunder to catch up with the score in just 3 minutes. It's just that at the critical moment of the fourth quarter, the players are still too young, lack of game experience, and Alexander did not get the opportunity to kill the opponent, unfortunately, slowly grow up.
The Lone Rangers were all six in doubles, but Doncic wasn't in particularly good form. 4-of-17, 6-of-0 three-pointers, no feel, just 12-of-14 free throws. The Lone Ranger has won 9 of the last 11 games, and in addition to Doncic's return, the stable play of role players is crucial. Kidd's coaching of the Lone Ranger this season has changed the team the most is the control of the rhythm and the improvement of the defensive end. After this game, the Lone Ranger's record reached 25 wins and 19 losses, slowly shrugging off the Nuggets and sitting in the fifth position in the West.