A Bad, Bad Mann

Tre Mann has never been a sure thing.

As a high school freshman, Mann was under 5-8 and 140 pounds. He seemed like a long shot for big-time college basketball, much less the NBA. But he stayed close to home after his growth spurt, attending the University of Florida, and was drafted No. 18 by the Thunder after his sophomore season.

Now, the Thunder's season is all but done. The team is 20-52, fighting not for a playoff spot but for position in the NBA Draft. But that didn't stop Mann last week from putting up two of the best offensive performances of the season and breaking OKC's rookie record for points in a quarter — twice.

"It was crazy," he said Monday. "I couldn't do nothing but, like, smile."

First was Miami on Friday night. Mann absolutely caught fire in the second quarter, shooting 8-for-11 from the field and scoring 20 points to set the Thunder rookie record, at the time. He nailed four of his six shots from deep, as 3-point shooting has been Mann's specialty throughout the year.

Mann finished with 25 points total, and eight assists. He would have logged more, in all likelihood, if a turned ankle hadn't ended his night in the second half and stymied OKC's hopes for a comeback against the Eastern Conference-leading Heat. The Thunder fell 120-108.

Mann had a tougher assignment on Sunday in Orlando, and more pressure on his shoulders. Playing in central Florida for the first time since college, the Amway Center was packed Sunday with dozens of Mann's family and friends. And the Thunder played Sunday without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, their best veteran player, who rested on the first night of a back-to-back.

The result was a lackluster 90-85 loss during which Mann shot only 5-for-19 overall and 3- for-11 from deep, for 13 points. OKC lost 90- 85.

But with Gilgeous-Alexander back on Monday night, in OKC against the Boston Celtics, Mann put on another special performance. His Monday showing not only matched but eclipsed what he'd done three nights earlier in Miami, as Mann nailed seven 3-pointers in the first half and scored 23 points in the second quarter alone — not only the team rookie record, but the most points a rookie has scored in a quarter, this season, in the entire NBA.

With less than 30 seconds left in the quarter, having already scored 20 points, Mann took the ball up for the Thunder's last possession. Everyone in the building knew he would be shooting again, and Boston tried to hound him off the ball at half court, pressing him into a mistake.

But Mann kept up his dribble and then, as the shot clock grew short, drove suddenly for the basket, flying past it while putting the ball up off the glass with his right hand and landing on his back near the stanchion.

It went in — and a foul. The arena erupted. Mann ended up pacing the team with 35 points overall, a record single-game score for Thunder rookies.

Oklahoma City lost again, 132-123, after mounting a comeback in the fourth quarter. It was OKC's 10th consecutive loss. Still, it was hard to feel down after witnessing another great game from Mann, with 31 points from Gilgeous-Alexander to boot.

"It was crazy," Mann said again. "That's all I was feeling was just, like, wow."

"He got it going, man. He got it going," Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. "And he got it going against Miami the other night. One of the things that we're always trying to figure out is, what's scalable and what's sustainable? And the best thing about going against elite teams ... is that everything's relevant. I've said that before. The fact that he can kind of wiggle around like that against these types of teams is really encouraging."

With just 10 games left to play, OKC returns to the court on Wednesday, March 23 for a home matchup with Orlando at 7 p.m. It will play the Nuggets in Denver on Saturday. Thunder Up!