Wizards at Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are searching for a new identity following the departure of franchise icon Russell Westbrook over the summer, and grit and grind seems to be the early focus. The Thunder will try to grind their way to their first win when they host the Washington Wizards on Friday.
Oklahoma City got veteran point guard Chris Paul back in the deal that sent Westbrook to Houston and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari were part of the return from the deal that sent Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers, and the three combined for 69 points in a 100-95 setback at Utah in Wednesday's season opener. "I think we learned that we got a lot of grit and fight," Paul told reporters. "With us, there are no moral victories. We felt like we let one slip away, but I do feel good about how we played. Our defense can definitely get better. Our offense too." The Wizards have room to improve as well after dropping their opener 108-100 at Dallas on Wednesday. "We fought, we competed, and that’s what we want," Washington coach Scott Brooks told reporters. "We want to make sure every game we leave everything on the floor. We could have played a little better, a little smarter, but those are things that are all correctable."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCS Washington, FS Oklahoma
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (0-1): Bradley Beal led the team with 19 points and nine assists on Wednesday but was ejected with just over a minute remaining after drawing a pair of technical fouls following some physical play against Dallas star Luka Doncic. "It was just hoops," Beal told reporters. "You could see when I got kicked out, he came up and was the first one to dap me, so he understood what it was. We weren't fighting. It was just basketball, trying to frustrate him. He was kicking our butts, so you've got to do something." Beal was 7-of-25 from the floor, including 1-of-11 from 3-point range, in the loss.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (0-1): Gilgeous-Alexander is getting a shot at a larger role than he enjoyed with Los Angeles last season and he responded with a career-high 26 points on Wednesday before praising the team's level of desire. "We have a bunch of guys that compete no matter what is going on, what circumstances are," Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters. "That's the best thing about this group. Guys want to win and want to compete at a high level." The only player to reach double figures besides Gallinari, Paul and Gilgeous-Alexander in the opener was reserve shooting guard Hamidou Diallo, who recorded 12 points off the bench.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Thunder PG Dennis Schroder struggled to three points on 1-of-8 shooting in 31 points off the bench on Wednesday.
2. Wizards rookie SF Rui Hachimura collected 14 points and 10 rebounds in his debut.
3. The road team took each of the two meetings last season, with Washington earning a 116-98 triumph in Oklahoma City behind 25 points from Beal.