During the 24 minutes Luguentz Dort spent on the floor Thursday night, his teammates seemed to constantly be trying to pass him the ball, especially his good friend Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
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“It wasn’t just Shai, it was all four guys on the court,” Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. We care about each other. It wasn’t part of the game plan. It was really cool to see that. It shows the direction this team is moving in.”
There he took the first shot of the game, but didn’t manage to reach the basket. But he quickly recovered and scored the first three points on his way to 24 points, his best performance of the night.
“My teammates told me at the beginning that they would give me the ball,” the Quebecer told the numerous media present at the Bell Center. I think I fired the first five shots of the game! I told them I just wanted the first pitch! After that it was less important. It illustrates all the chemistry that is within us.
Disappointment for the fans
Despite Dort’s good efforts, the Thunder lost 128-125 while the Detroit Pistons took the lead in the final moments, a rare time during the game.
“I would have liked us to have won in front of the audience, it would have been nice for the fans,” said the local hero, adding that he never “spoke French in the audience like never before” that evening will be forgotten.
“I was ready”
Dort, a highly touted starter, was removed from the game midway through the third quarter. By his own admission, there was no lack of desire to take action to help his team withstand the rise of the Pistons.
“I was ready, I watched the coach the whole time. I said, “Coach, if you need me, I’m here!” “But coach Mark told us we’d stop in the third quarter,” Dort said, explaining his resignation.
“Perform your role wonderfully”
Daigneault knows his number 5 well. Both came to the club from Oklahoma City five years ago. The coach wanted to evaluate other players in the middle of training camp. However, he has already noticed that Dort has done his homework this summer.
“The most important thing is to develop a style of play that is more efficient, especially in decision-making. All credit goes to him because I think he fulfilled his role wonderfully at the World Cup. He showed up to our camp with that mentality of doing whatever it takes to win. “He’s always been competitive, but he’s getting better at it, and if he can keep that up this season, he’ll help the team a lot,” Daigneault said.