Cason Wallace played a pivotal role in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 122-101 blowout home win against the Los Angeles Clippers, despite his modest statistical line. The 22-year-old combo guard had five points, one rebound, four assists, and five steals on 1-for-8 shooting.
The Oklahoma City Thunder got off to a slow start in the first quarter, trailing by as many as 11, but they turned things around in the second quarter with a 21-7 run and never looked back from there, with Wallace leaving an imprint defensively.
“He makes everyone else’s job easier,” Chet Holmgren said of Wallace via The Oklahoman. “He makes up for other people’s mistakes on both ends. It’s pretty impressive.”
“We take pride in winning, and we want to win every game,” Wallace said. “Whenever we lose, we don’t want to keep that energy around. We learn from it, get back on the road, and keep moving forward.”
Oklahoma City Thunder News: Jalen Williams opens up on the team’s five-day layoff before Thursday night
After losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup semifinals, Jalen Williams said that the Oklahoma City Thunder used the five-day layoff to regroup and recharge their batteries.
“We just had to gel more,” Williams said. “Whenever you get that many days to actually practice, it’s good — and we used the most of it. Today there was a lot more cohesion. We were sharper defensively and offensively, too.”
The renewed focus helped the Oklahoma City Thunder improve to a 25-2 record, making them only the fifth team in NBA history to hit that mark at this juncture of the season, joining the 2008-09 Boston Celtics, 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, 1969-70 New York Knicks, and 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers.
