"You feel embarrassed when you score 24 points in a half of basketball. And I do believe, no doubt in my mind, that our guys are better than this. But it's not about what you believe. I think our readiness to play the game was not there."
"Oklahoma City beat the Nets 105-86 at Paycom Center on Feb. 20, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn't play in that one. On Wednesday, he did, and the gap between the teams was obvious. Once the Thunder found their rhythm, they didn't just take control, they proceeded to embarrass Brooklyn on its home floor."
"Gilgeous-Alexander scored nine points on 4-for-5 shooting in the first quarter, setting the tone for a Thunder group that shot 50%. Oklahoma City was missing Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein, but none of that mattered once Gilgeous-Alexander got going. He was healthy, aggressive and surgical."
Brooklyn suffered a decisive 121-92 defeat to the top-seeded Thunder at Barclays Center, extending their losing streak to five games and falling to 17-52. The Nets scored only 24 points in the first half and shot 36.7% overall while turning the ball over 23 times. Jared McCain led Oklahoma City with 26 bench points, while Jalen Wilson paced Brooklyn with 15 points off the bench. The Nets played without Michael Porter Jr., Ben Saraf, Egor Dömin, Day'Ron Sharpe, and Noah Clowney, who suffered a wrist sprain mid-game. Coach Jordi Fernández acknowledged the team's lack of readiness and poor performance, noting the gap between the teams became evident once Shai Gilgeous-Alexander found his rhythm for Oklahoma City.
Read at New York Daily News
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