Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault doesn’t regret fouling down the stretch Monday night, even though it allowed the Denver Nuggets to be in position to steal Game 1 from them in stunning fashion.
Daigneault, while admitting his strategy to foul the Nuggets despite having the lead down the stretch didn’t pan out, is convinced that was still the right move — even if the Thunder didn’t quite execute it perfectly.
“That’s usually our deal is to foul up three and to play that game,” Daigneault said after the Nuggets’ stunning 121-119 win, via The Oklahoman’s Joel Lorenzi. “I thought we executed the fouls pretty well. Got the ball in bounds pretty well. It didn’t go our way tonight, but it’s worked out well for us in the past. We’ll continue to look at it, maybe learn from it, but I didn’t think that’s why we lost the game.”
The Nuggets rallied and ended the game on a 19-6 run to grab the win in the opener of their Western Conference semifinals series. Repeatedly down the stretch, though, the Thunder opted to foul the Nuggets when they held a narrow lead.
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That strategy isn’t necessarily a bad one, and coaches at all levels of the game often opt for it as an attempt to prevent a game-tying or game-winning shot. Alex Caruso fouled Aaron Gordon in the backcourt with just 10.1 seconds on the clock and a three-point lead in hand, and then Gordon’s two free throws cut the lead to one. Caruso also fouled just two seconds earlier, too, which led to a pair of free throws from Nikola Jokić — though Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a dunk to keep the Thunder ahead between fouls.
The only problem, though, is the Thunder have to hit their free throws, too. Oklahoma City star Chet Holmgren missed two free throws with 9.1 seconds left. He had to hit both to again give the Thunder a three-point lead.
That allowed Gordon to hit a game-winning 3-pointer after an incredible sequence down the floor from the Nuggets, which sealed their Game 1 win.
The other big issue here is the Thunder didn’t let any time come off the clock between fouls. They could’ve let several seconds come off the clock each time to shorten the game.
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Regardless, Daigneault is taking full responsibility.
“The backcourt fouls hurt us,” Daigneault said. “We can learn from fouling up three, that’s on me. … It’s probably too early [to foul] on my part. But that’s not on the players. They’re executing what I’m telling them to do.”
In the end, it’s hard to blame the loss completely on the decision to foul late. The Thunder shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place, considering they held a double digit lead in the fourth quarter. And if Holmgren had hit his free throws, things might have been different.
“This game wasn’t won or lost in the last 15 seconds,” Caruso said, backing that point up. Though he admitted they “gave them a couple free throws where they didn’t have to earn it.”
Had the young Thunder executed the strategy perfectly, however, they would hold a 1-0 lead heading into Wednesday night’s Game 2. If the series is as entertaining as the first game was, that mistake could make all the difference.
