Because of their dominance for most of the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder rarely play close games or wilt in the fourth quarter.
That scenario unfolded against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night, resulting in a three-point overtime loss. Two nights later, the Thunder attempt to avoid taking consecutive losses for only the second time this season when they visit the Brooklyn Nets.
En route to 46 wins through its first 57 games, Oklahoma City has played 18 games decided by single digits and only five decided by five points or fewer. The Thunder played consecutive single-digit games against the Timberwolves, earning a 130-123 win in Minnesota on Sunday before taking a 131-128 overtime home loss Monday.
The Thunder held a 19-point lead at halftime, led by as many as 25 and had a 22-point advantage through three quarters before getting outscored 41-19 in the fourth. Oklahoma City also held a 16-point edge before allowing the final 16 points of regulation.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander piled up 39 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists but missed a tying 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left in overtime. He also missed a potential game-winning basket with 3.9 seconds left in regulation.
“It hurts in the moment,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “But we have (25) games left. The 82-game season is an opportunity to get better 82 times. If this is what it takes for us to learn, this is what it takes for us to learn. It’s a lesson at the end of the night. We’ll try to get better from it.”
The Thunder are hoping to avoid losing consecutive games for the first time since a two-point home loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 17 and a six-point road loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 19.
Oklahoma City claimed the first meeting with Brooklyn Jan. 19, when it held a 20-point lead through the opening quarter and cruised to a 127-101 victory. The Thunder shot 55.2 percent and hit 19 3s in that game, which occurred two weeks after the end of their 15-game winning streak.
Oklahoma City is 11-4 since the previous encounter with the Nets, who were in the middle of a seven-game losing streak and a stretch of 12 losses in 13 games.
Since then, Brooklyn is 7-3 in its past 10 games to sneak within striking distance of an Eastern Conference play-in spot. It absorbed its second defeat to the league-worst Wizards when it struggled in the fourth quarter of a 107-99 loss in Washington on Monday.
Like the Thunder, the Nets folded in the fourth by getting outscored 22-12, shooting 3-of-16 and allowing 11 points off six turnovers. The Nets shot 39.3 percent overall and committed 18 turnovers in a game where they faced a 14-point deficit in the opening minutes of the first quarter.
Ziaire Williams led Brooklyn with 19 points by hitting five 3-pointers. Cameron Johnson added 17 but was 0-of-5 in the final quarter.
“Our guys always work and respond,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said after his team scored less than 100 for the 19th time. “Whether it’s a win or a loss, the approach is to go back, work and show up the next game and compete at a high level.”
The Nets played a second straight game without D’Angelo Russell and are 1-7 without him since reacquiring the guard from the Los Angeles Lakers. He tweaked his ankle in the third quarter Thursday against Cleveland. Newcomer Killian Hayes started the past two games and could do so again if Russell sits again.
