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Al Arabiya
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
The Thunder play hard and play with physicality. But they won't lose by technical knockout
The worst display of bad behavior, at least in the NBA's eyes, exhibited by Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander this season happened on Jan. 12. Thunder teammate Alex Ducas made a 3-pointer with 2:55 left in a blowout win over Washington–the first points of his NBA career, a shot that happened right in front of the Oklahoma City bench. Gilgeous-Alexander jumped out of his seat in celebration and waved a towel. Problem was, the towel appeared to make contact with Washington's Jared Butler. Oops. Technical foul. That less-than-egregious crime was the only technical foul called on Gilgeous-Alexander this season–and Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Saturday that it wound up being rescinded, too. For a team that embraces physicality on defense, scores a ton of points on offense and isn't afraid to commit fouls–it is averaging 20.2 per game this season when including the playoffs, the fifth-highest rate in the NBA going into Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night–the Thunder simply do not cross the line. By the NBA's count, they have 18 technical fouls in the regular season and playoffs; that goes to 21 when adding in the NBA Cup championship game, which is considered an exhibition and doesn't go into the stats. 'First of all, I respect the officials. I think our team respects the officials,' Daigneault said. 'We understand that it's an imperfect job. It's not going to be perfect. They are trying to get it right. We really just try to focus on what we can control, not because of anything other than that's the best pathway to play your best and it's the best pathway to win. We have, hopefully, a culture of focusing on what we can control and blocking everything else out.' Of the 18 technical fouls on the Thunder in the regular season and playoffs, only nine were for interactions with referees. Gilgeous-Alexander almost didn't know how to react when he got the technical foul in Washington. In the first three years of his career, he got zero technicals. He had one in Year 4; it was eventually rescinded. By Gilgeous-Alexander's standards, he's been on a wave of misbehavior in the three years since. Gilgeous-Alexander has been hit with five technical fouls in the last three years–two in the 2022–23 regular season, two in last season's playoffs and then the towel wave that went awry this season. Over the last seven seasons, only Harrison Barnes and Jrue Holiday have played more minutes than Gilgeous-Alexander with fewer technicals. 'I was hotheaded as a kid,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'As I've grown, I've just understood that getting too high or getting too low, especially in competition, doesn't really help me, for sure. So I try to be as even-keeled as possible.' The NBA said the Thunder have been called for three technicals in the playoffs–two by Isaiah Hartenstein and one by Chet Holmgren. Neither player had one during the regular season, and nobody on the Thunder had more than four. 'The way I see it, techs is points. I don't ever want to give a team points because I can't control my emotions,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'So I control them. It's that simple to me.'
Washington Post
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
The Thunder play hard and play with physicality. But they won't lose by technical knockout
OKLAHOMA CITY — The worst display of bad behavior, at least in the NBA's eyes, exhibited by Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander this season happened on Jan. 12. Thunder teammate Alex Ducas made a 3-pointer with 2:55 left in a blowout win over Washington — the first points of his NBA career, a shot that happened right in front of the Oklahoma City bench. Gilgeous-Alexander jumped out of his seat in celebration and waved a towel. Problem was, the towel appeared to make contact with Washington's Jared Butler.
Associated Press
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
The Thunder play hard and play with physicality. But they won't lose by technical knockout
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The worst display of bad behavior, at least in the NBA's eyes, exhibited by Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander this season happened on Jan. 12. Thunder teammate Alex Ducas made a 3-pointer with 2:55 left in a blowout win over Washington — the first points of his NBA career, a shot that happened right in front of the Oklahoma City bench. Gilgeous-Alexander jumped out of his seat in celebration and waved a towel. Problem was, the towel appeared to make contact with Washington's Jared Butler. Oops. Technical foul. That less-than-egregious crime was the only technical foul called on Gilgeous-Alexander this season — and Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Saturday that it wound up being rescinded, too. For a team that embraces physicality on defense, scores a ton of points on offense and isn't afraid to commit fouls — it is averaging 20.2 per game this season when including the playoffs, the fifth-highest rate in the NBA going into Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night — the Thunder simply do not cross the line. By the NBA's count, they have 18 technical fouls in the regular season and playoffs; that goes to 21 when adding in the NBA Cup championship game, which is considered an exhibition and doesn't go into the stats. 'First of all, I respect the officials. I think our team respects the officials,' Daigneault said. 'We understand that it's an imperfect job. It's not going to be perfect. They are trying to get it right. We really just try to focus on what we can control, not because of anything other than that's the best pathway to play your best and it's the best pathway to win. We have hopefully a culture of focusing on what we can control and blocking everything else out.' Of the 18 technical fouls on the Thunder in the regular season and playoffs, only nine were for interactions with referees. Gilgeous-Alexander almost didn't know how to react when he got the technical foul in Washington. In the first three years of his career, he got zero technicals. He had one in Year 4; it was eventually rescinded. By Gilgeous-Alexander's standards, he's been on a wave of misbehavior in the three years since. Gilgeous-Alexander has been hit with five technical fouls in the last three years — two in the 2022-23 regular season, two in last season's playoffs and then the towel wave that went awry this season. Over the last seven seasons, only Harrison Barnes and Jrue Holiday have played more minutes than Gilgeous-Alexander with fewer technicals. 'I was hotheaded as a kid,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'As I've grown, I've just understood that getting too high or getting too low, especially in competition, doesn't really help me, for sure. So, I try to be as even-keeled as possible.' The NBA said the Thunder have been called for three technicals in the playoffs, two by Isaiah Hartenstein and one by Chet Holmgren. Neither player had one during the regular season, and nobody on the Thunder had more than four. 'The way I see it, techs is points. I don't ever want to give a team points because I can't control my emotions,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'So, I control them. It's that simple to me.' ___ AP NBA:
West Australian
30-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Geraldton Buccaneer Alex Ducas is one step closer to an NBA championship ring with Oklahoma City Thunder
Former Geraldton Buccaneer Alex Ducas is one step closer to an NBA championship ring with Oklahoma City Thunder. Thunder have stormed into the NBA finals for the first time since 2012, dominating in the regular season and booking the finals berth after a 4-1 semifinal series win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Ducas messaged his dad Aaron after the game on Thursday, telling him the team felt confident in their play and that they're looking forward to the finals. When asked about having an NBA championship ring in the house, Aaron Ducas told the Geraldton Guardian on Friday: 'Yeah, it's huge, slightly better than the SBL title, it would be amazing.' 'He's put all the hard yards in, done all the little things to get him where he is, and he deserves every accolade he can get.' While Ducas hasn't had game time since mid-April he is still on the roster as a two-way player and could get some minutes on the court should the Thunder roll deep into the finals series. Competition is fierce within the squad, with teammate Jalen Williams combining with NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren to score 170 points in games four and five against the Timberwolves. Luc Longley is the only West Australian basketballer to have won an NBA championship. In fact, he has won three. Ducas debuted in 2016, playing 51 games over four seasons for the Buccs, including the SBL championship in 2019, the same year he was named NBL1 youth player of the year. He played a full five years of college basketball in the US, for St Mary's Gaels in California. The 24-year-old signed with the Thunder mid-2024 and has played 21 games in the 2024-25 season, averaging six minutes and 1.7 points a game. Oklahoma will face either the New York Knicks or the Indiana Pacers in a best-of-seven series, starting June 6.
