'Death by papercut': Hawks hold off Thunder in former OU star Trae Young's homecoming

Jalen Williams caught Trae Young napping, and with a subtle swipe, the Thunder rookie stole the ball from the Hawks star and paid off the turnover with a slam.

Williams’ scoop-and-score with 15 seconds left is one of those plays that will be remembered from his rookie campaign, despite it coming in a 137-132 Thunder loss to the Hawks.

The former Santa Clara standout had 24 points, his second-highest total as a pro, on 11-of-16 shooting. He had four steals, the last of which cut Atlanta’s lead to one point.

“I think we expect that from him,” Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said of Williams. “He’s proven for sure that he belongs in this league, and he’s gonna be a really good basketball player for a really long time.”

Williams’ steal aside, it was not a good night for the Thunder’s defense.

More:How Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey are meshing in OKC Thunder backcourt

The Hawks’ 137 points were the most the Thunder has allowed this season. Atlanta shot 60% from the field, including a staggering 71% from inside the arc.

“We had to be a lot tighter than we were tonight,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “It was death by papercut. It was everything.”

Too many fouls, too many transition points allowed and not enough discipline from the Thunder’s usually sharp defense.

“When we watch that game, we’re gonna be like, ‘Man, we let that one go because of how controllable some of those plays were,’” Daigneault said.

Young, in his homecoming game, led the Hawks with 33 points on 11-of-20 shooting. He was 10-of-11 from the free throw line.

The Hawks shot 33 free throws to the Thunder’s 16.

Every Thunder player who came to the podium shared the same sentiment.

“I think we let one slip tonight for sure,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Our offense was good enough, we just didn’t bring it defensively, and they made us pay.”

Added guard Josh Giddey: “Neither team was playing defense. It just became a battle of who could score more points.”

More:Tramel's ScissorTales: Thunder playoff chase courtesy of disappointing Western Conference

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander outmaneuvers Hawks

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can make good defenders look bad.

Like on Wednesday, when Hawks guard Dejounte Murray fouled Gilgeous-Alexander three times in the span of 26 seconds in the second quarter. And Murray didn’t just foul Gilgeous-Alexander, he fouled him on three straight SGA made layups.

Yes, three and-ones, paid off by three made free throws, in less than half a minute. If such a thing is tracked, Gilgeous-Alexander surely made history.

Murray had seen enough. He was whistled for a technical with three seconds left before halftime. Gilgeous-Alexander made the free throw to rub it in.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points in the first half, which marked a career high. His previous 12 highest-scoring halves were all second halves.

But Murray and the Hawks got the better of Gilgeous-Alexander in the second half Wednesday.

SGA, who finished with 36 points on 13-of-22 shooting, was held to 10 points after halftime.

When the Thunder got the ball, trailing by three points with 15 seconds left, Gilgeous-Alexander got to the rim and was blocked by Murray with eight seconds left. SGA collected his miss but didn’t get the putback to fall.

Those whistles he got in the first half had dried up.

“I thought I got fouled on a few possessions, the refs didn’t, and that’s that I guess,” SGA said.

Daigneault was asked why the Thunder opted for a two rather than a game-tying 3-pointer.

“I told (Gilgeous-Alexander) to look for the two,” Daigneault said. “That’s why he drove the ball. I thought he probably got fouled on that play. He had those guys lifted. They weren’t legal defenders.”

Daigneault further explained his late-game thinking. If SGA made the layup or got fouled, the Hawks would have to inbound under pressure with no timeouts.

And if Atlanta inbounded the ball, got fouled and made its free throws, the Thunder had a timeout it could use to advance the ball.

“In those situations, unless we have two timeouts, I’m usually going to opt to play fast and try to extend the game that way, but obviously it didn’t work out tonight,” Daigneault said.

More:What was Thunder guard Lu Dort's take on facing Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin? 'Big for Montreal'

Ousmane Dieng returns vs. Hawks

Ousmane Dieng’s last game before Wednesday was Dec. 5 at Atlanta. Dieng scored a career-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

Two days later, the Thunder rookie suffered a non-displaced fracture in his right wrist.

Dieng returned Wednesday in his first NBA game since the injury. And it came against those same Hawks.

Dieng looked a little lost — understandable for a 19-year-old who’s missed more than a month — in his 11 minutes off the bench. The Thunder was outscored by 23 points when Dieng was on the floor.

“I think we can expect that, especially with the amount of time that he was out,” Daigneault said. “We’re certainly glad to have him back.”

It will be interesting to see how the Thunder balances finding minutes for Dieng to develop versus sticking with more reliable players.

More:How Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey are meshing in OKC Thunder backcourt

Showtime in OKC

The first quarter was filled with highlights.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander threw a bounce pass between the legs of Hawks center Clint Capela (and then did it again in the third quarter).

Josh Giddey threw a behind-the-back pass to a cutting Gilgeous-Alexander.

Tre Mann threw a behind-the-back to Mike Muscala for a 3-pointer.

All of those plays contributed to a 43-point quarter — the Thunder’s highest-scoring first quarter of the season.

More:Thunder rookie Jaylin Williams has support of OKC's Vietnamese community

Thunder tip-ins

- Cody Williams, the brother of Thunder guard Jalen Williams, was named a McDonald’s All-American on Tuesday. Cody Williams, a 6-foot-8 wing, is the 12th-ranked player in the 2023 class, according to the 247Sports composite. He signed with Colorado.

- The Hawks tried to use their height advantage with Capela matched up against Kenrich Williams, the Thunder’s small-ball center. Capela didn’t miss in his 18-point, 10-rebound night, but Daigneault said that wasn’t the Thunder’s problem on defense.

- Daigneault said the Thunder going small was a net positive, which might explain why Capela was a team-worst minus-18 for the Hawks. OKC also outscored Atlanta 72-64 in the paint.

- Josh Giddey has been relentless in attacking the rim, but he didn’t fare well inside on Wednesday. Giddey shot just 8-of-17 in the paint.

- Former Thunder and current Hawk Vit Krejci didn’t play in his return to Oklahoma City.

- Thunder center Jaylin Williams did not play (coach’s decision).

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Hawks beat Thunder in former OU star Trae Young's homecoming in OKC