Oklahoma City Thunder’s Unheralded Weapon Praised for Providing Spark in Game 1 Victory Vs. Dallas Mavericks

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams led the way, combining for 66 points, but one reason why they won via a blowout is that they got a huge lift off the bench, especially from Aaron Wiggins.

“He was big time. Really really good on both ends of the floor. He did what he’s done all year,” Mark Daigneault said on Aaron Wiggins via Brandon Rahbar on X (formerly known as Twitter).

“Just staying ready. I’m on the side, just prepping myself, trying to find comfortability within the flow of the game. Just playing confident, playing free, playing comfortable within the system. I was able to find good looks early,” Wiggins said.

Aaron Wiggins led the Oklahoma City Thunder bench with 16 points, five rebounds, and three-pointers while going 5-of-7 from the field in 23 minutes of action. Before Game 1, the 25-year-old guard never played more than 16 minutes in the first round against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Defense was the calling card for the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1

The Oklahoma City Thunder are now 5-0 in the 2024 NBA playoffs because of their elite defense, as they have never conceded above 95 points so far.

In Game 1, the Oklahoma City Thunder held the Dallas Mavericks to 39.3 percent shooting from the floor as a team. Luka Doncic, in particular, struggled shooting the ball, going 6-of-19 from the field and 1-of-8 from three-point range for 19 points.

Lu Dort takes credit for making Luka Doncic work harder than usual for his points. Rookie guard Cason Wallace drew the defensive assignment several times and Chet Holmgren made it difficult for the Slovenian near the rim.

“Who cares? We lost. We just got to move on to the next one. We’ve got to be better,” Doncic said after Game 1.