Player grades: Thunder look flat in 94-69 summer league loss to Raptors
Cleaning up a miss, Kylor Kelley slammed his second-chance bucket with ferocity. The loud dunk ended a drought as OKC collected its first-made basket nearly four minutes into the contest. But after a quick sip of water, it returned to the Nevada desert.
The Oklahoma City Thunder started the Las Vegas portion of their summer league on a whimper. They lost to the Toronto Raptors, 94-69.
"Give Toronto a ton of credit," Vegas SL coach Daniel Dixon said. "They came out and kinda threw the first punch. Kinda took one in the chin early but I thought our guys fought back. That's probably the most important thing. Not laying down."
The Raptors built a 10-1 lead in the opening moments of the contest. That advantage eventually ballooned to an eye-popping 20-5 score. This helped them accomplish the wire-to-wire win. The Thunder had a 1-of-13 start and exited the first frame in a 30-10 hole.
OKC's offense looked better in the second quarter but the Raptors limited it to 17 points. The Thunder entered halftime with a disheartening 48-27 deficit. The lack of finishers on the roster glared brightly throughout the first two quarters.
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It was a much better second half by OKC. The Thunder outscored the Raptors in the third quarter, 23-14, to enter the final frame with a manageable 62-50 disadvantage. The trio of Dillon Jones, Ajay Mitchell and Adam Flagler carried the scoring load as Ousmane Dieng sat out the remainder of the SL schedule.
Flagler nailed a 3-pointer to make it a 10-point deficit with roughly nine minutes left. It felt like a semblance of momentum was finally on OKC's side. But the Raptors answered back to make it a double-digit difference once more.
In another run moments later, Jones passed it out to KJ Williams for a top-of-the-key 3-pointer to make it a nine-point contest with five minutes to go -- but this proved to be the closest OKC would get on the scoreboard.
The Raptors strung together 16 consecutive points to eliminate any hope of a massive comeback by the Thunder. Toronto left with a 25-point final margin that saw minimum drama down the stretch. It stiff-armed each Thunder run.
The Thunder struggled to score. They shot 34% from the field and went 11-of-28 (39.3%) from 3. They had 16 assists on 26 baskets and 16 turnovers. Only three OKC players scored double-digit points. Its bench tallied a mere 10 points.
Flagler led the way with 23 points. Jones had 17 points and seven rebounds. Mitchell contributed with 15 points. Ultimately, those three players matter most for OKC the rest of the way. Despite the lackluster outing, it was a productive performance because of this.
Meanwhile, the Raptors ran circles around the Thunder. That's expected from a squad beginning a rebuild. A lot of their young talent suited up for the July event. They shot 44% from the field and went 10-of-31 (32.3%) from 3. They had 25 assists on 36 baskets. Five Toronto players scored double-digit points.
Gradey Dick had a productive outing. He finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Branden Carlson had 13 points and eight rebounds. DJ Carton totaled 13 points and five assists. Javon Freeman-Liberty had 12 points and five rebounds.
The Thunder had a slow start but cleaned up their messy offense in the second half. They even made it an interesting finish as they battled back to a single-digit deficit. In the end, though, a lack of scorers for OKC was painfully obvious. Despite that, there were some decent individual performances.
Let's look at Thunder player grades.
Adam Flagler: A
For most of the contest, Flagler was OKC's source for points. The 24-year-old turned in another SL performance where his outside shot shined. He must translate this to the NBA level to carve out a career.
In 28 minutes, Flagler finished with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He shot 6-of-7 from 3. After a one-point first frame, he went off in the final 30 minutes to be the game's leading scorer.
The two-way player will likely play the entirety of the summer league. Halfway through the summer event, he's been one of the better players for the Thunder. Flagler has shown off his outside shot against quality talent.
"They were telling me at the end of the day if I go out there and have a shot, take it," Flagler said. "They feel like I can knock down a good amount of shots. They're confident in me. I just want to resemble that with my play out there."
Dillon Jones: B
OKC's rough first half and refined second half coincided with Jones. As Dieng sits out, the 22-year-old suddenly sees his role closer to what he had at Weber State than he will have with the Thunder.
It was mixed results at first. Jones couldn't buy a bucket and turned the ball over. He had eight points on eight shots in the Thunder's 27-point opening half. Then, it clicked for him in the latter quarters. Shots began to fall as the offense ran through him.
Jones finished with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting, seven rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes. He shot 2-of-4 from 3. In front of his new teammates, he showed out against the Raptors. Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Isaiah Hartenstein were in attendance.
"It was crazy because I didn't really notice them until the end of the game," Jones said on his teammates' presence. "It's crazy those are technically my teammates and brothers now. It's still a crazy feeling because of their stature and who they are as players."
As the Thunder's thin SL roster grows thinner, all eyes will be on Jones until he sits out. He's been a productive player in his point-forward role akin to what he did in college. More importantly, the catch-and-shoot attempts look decent, which he will most likely get for most of his looks in his rookie season.
"My rookie year doesn't end at the end of summer league. It ends this time next year," Jones said. "That’s a rookie season. So that's what I'm just excited about, just to keep learning."
Ajay Mitchell: B-minus
Mitchell struggled to finish in the paint, which might be detrimental if not cleaned up. The Raptors limited OKC's look in that area as it shot an ugly 32% from there. But Mitchell has shown he can dissect a defense, so let's chalk this up as an off night for the second-round rookie.
Mitchell tallied 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting, three assists, three rebounds and three steals in 30 minutes. He shot 2-of-5 from 3.
The 22-year-old struggled to navigate in a crowded paint. He shot 2-of-10 in that area. That must be better if he is to survive in the NBA. The Thunder's offense was gunky as Mitchell turned in his worst SL performance.
"They were picking him up full court," Dixon said about Mitchell. "That was really tough for the guard. The thing I respect about him the most is he still picks up the ball defensively. Which is really hard to do. You have to be in really good shape to do that."
Keyontae Johnson: D
With Dieng out, Johnson received the starting nod. It's a golden opportunity for him to be a positive after a forgettable first three SL games at Utah.
Instead, the 24-year-old was invisible for most of the contest. He finished scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting, four assists, four rebounds and four turnovers in 19 minutes.
Time is ticking away for Johnson to impress in summer league. He's currently an unrestricted free agent. His best shot to remain in OKC next season is to win the final standard roster spot since all three two-way slots are filled.
Even if he doesn't get it, Johnson should still show out to see if he can land on any of the other 29 NBA teams. He'll have a chance to play notable minutes the rest of the way as more players sit out the summer event.
"Continue to stay aggressive," Dixion said about Johnson. "He's done a great job through camp. He's an aggressive player. He's a strong player defensively. He's really good as well. He's physical. Just getting his physicality in the game, continue doing what he's doing."