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OKC’s 0-8 Summer League Finish and the 17-Point Run That Sealed Their Fate

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OKC's 0-8 Summer League Finish and the 17-Point Run That Sealed Their Fate
Created by the Sports On Tap desk

The Oklahoma City Thunder wrapped up their Summer League run getting absolutely throttled, falling 108-90 to the Brooklyn Nets and officially going winless through eight tries in both Utah and Las Vegas. It was a tough ending to a forgettable two-week event, with Bryce Harris sinking the final points from the free-throw line with just 34 seconds left, a final, quiet whimper before the long wait until October.

The Final, Ugly Stand

Honestly, this game felt over before it even started. With key guys like Aday Mara, Bennett Stirtz, Brooks Barnhizer, Otega Oweh, and Josh Dix all sitting out for OKC, and the Nets doing the same with Egor Demin, Mikel Brown Jr., and Danny Wolf, it was basically a G League scrimmage. Any sliver of hope the Thunder had for snagging just *one* win was snuffed out immediately. The Nets went on a brutal 17-0 run right off the bat, which quickly ballooned into a soul-crushing 25-3 stretch. Can you believe it? Twenty-five to three! This game lost all interest faster than you could grab a pretzel. OKC was staring down a 37-24 deficit after the first quarter, and while Steven Ashworth tried to spark something, nobody else could get anything going. It’s almost fitting that this whole mess unfolded while the Thunder were busy making the Lu Dort three-team trade official and the World Cup final was on. Yeah, I wasn’t really paying attention either, and I don’t blame anyone who checked out.

Numbers Don’t Lie, and They Aren’t Pretty

Sure, OKC scored 21 points in the second quarter, making the 60-45 halftime deficit look “respectable,” but let’s be real, they were still down by 20-plus. The third quarter was more of the same, with Ashworth putting up points mostly out of sheer necessity, as the team struggled to find any rhythm. They only managed 19 points in that frame, digging themselves into an 82-64 hole. The fourth quarter? Zero drama, absolutely none, until Brooklyn’s Dion Brown miraculously grabbed the last rebound for a triple-double and their bench went wild. The Thunder tacked on 26 points in the final frame but trailed by as many as 27 points throughout the game. Their shooting numbers tell the whole story: a miserable 38 percent from the field, and a truly abysmal 12-of-40 (30 percent) from three-point range. They hit 12-of-14 free throws and had 19 assists on 29 baskets, but it’s hard to feel good about that.

Individually, Steven Ashworth did what he could with 22 points and four assists. Jabri Abdur-Rahim added 17 points and three rebounds. Bryce Harris pulled off a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double, and Andrew Holifield chipped in 14 points and four rebounds. Four players in double-digits, which sounds okay, but the Nets shot a blistering 52 percent from the field. It’s a long road from Vegas to October, and after an 0-8 Summer League, it feels like everybody involved was more than ready to get out of the casinos and desert.

This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.

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