THE GRAHAM JAM

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been mounting ferocious comebacks all season long, but they were in danger of blowing a big lead of their own.

The Thunder had trailed for most of three quarters before hitting the gas and dominating the fourth in Toronto last Wednesday, Dec. 8. They turned a 13-point deficit into a 14-point lead with 6:13 left in the ballgame, up 97-83.

But then, disaster: Justin Champagnie scored an and-one layup and jump-started Toronto’s offense just as OKC went cold. With just under 1 minute to play, Fred VanVleet nailed a 3 – Toronto’s third in three possessions – to knot the score at 105. And Champagnie pushed the Raptors’ lead to 109-107 on a finger-roll layup with 18 seconds to play.

Needing a bucket to extend the game, Mike Muscala passed off to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just above the 3-point line, and SGA drove to the rim. But finding the paint crowded, he turned around and passed back to an unguarded Muscala – who caught the ball and fired, swishing a clutch 3-pointer to put Oklahoma City up 110-109.

VanVleet attempted a highly contested floater on the other end with time running out, but the ball fell well short of the basket. Champagnie, standing underneath, caught VanVleet’s attempt and tipped it in as time expired. But would it count? Champagnie certainly thought so, celebrating at center court as the crowd cheered and his teammates mobbed him.

But a quick replay review clearly showed the ball on Champagnie’s fingers as the buzzer blared, and Oklahoma City held on for the win.

It was yet another feel-good moment for Muscala, the highlight of a season in which he has frequently jolted the team from the bench and shot well from outside. Wednesday’s game was hardly Muscala’s best – he scored just six points with little else to show in the box score through 15 minutes – but his timely shot proved the deciding factor.

And Muscala wasn’t the only Thunder roleplayer to have a good week. Despite a lopsided score, Tre Mann led the team in points during its 116-95 loss to the Lakers on Friday night. Mann earned nearly 28 minutes, more than starters Darius Bazley and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl saw that night, and put up 19 points and three rebounds.

Mann turned heads that night, in particular, with a second-quarter dunk that saw him drive past Russell Westbrook on the wing, launch before the restricted area and dunk all over Wayne Ellington, who didn’t even leave his feet.

“When it first happened, it just felt good,” Mann related after the game. “I had just got dunked on the play before, so to come back and get one like that felt good.”

In addition to Mann and Muscala, the Thunder got encouraging minutes from Bazley and Aleksej Pokusevski during the week, while Lu Dort continued shooting the ball well. For the season, Dort is now averaging 17 points per game.

Consecutive wins against Detroit and Toronto were exactly what the doctor ordered after an abysmal, historic defeat in Memphis the week before. But losses to Los Angeles and Dallas capped the week, and the Mavericks were without superstar guard Luka Doncic, too.

Oklahoma City’s next two obstacles will be achievable: home games against the Pelicans and Clippers on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively. But a return to Memphis looms on Monday, Dec. 20, as the Thunder try to exorcise their demons against a streaking Grizzlies squad that has, shockingly, vaulted to No. 4 in the Western Conference without Ja Morant.

Until next week – Thunder Up!