READ MORE:<\/strong> Souths turn to Burgess to recruit World Cup star<\/strong><\/a>\ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n \ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n READ MORE: <\/strong>Panthers star to exit despite 'substantial offer'\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Alcott's hilarious first meeting with tennis 'king'<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n "First half was ugly for us, we were lucky to be down two – we didn't play our style of basketball, \ufeffthey got on top of us early," Giddey said on court after the win.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/ThunderFocus\/status\/1614800504001028096<\/a><\/p>\n "\ufeffSecond half, guys responded well … we managed the clock well, we executed at both ends of the floor and got good looks.<\/p>\n "It was a great team win \ufeffagainst a really good team."<\/p>\n Most of Giddey's scoring came in crunch time, scoring 10 in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n The game was within a solitary point after a three-pointer from Mills, but two back-to-back bombs in response, the latter from Isaiah Joe, pushed the margin to seven with just over six minutes left.<\/p>\n It would never get closer than that. \ufeff<\/p>\n "\ufeffBig time players make big time plays," Giddey said.<\/p>\n "Zay stays ready. \ufeffHe comes in off the bench, he knows his role and he does it to perfection."<\/p>\n The win \ufefflifts the Thunder to 21-23, in a tie for the play-in tournament for the post-season.<\/p>\n "That was a team effort – we had five guys locked in at all times," Giddey said.<\/p>\n They've now won five of their last six, the one defeat by a single point Miami.<\/p>\n \ufeffAfter a week away from home against four strong Eastern Conference opponents, the Thunder will get a few days off before hosting the Pacers later in the week. <\/p>\n "We've grown a lot from the start of the year," he said. <\/p>\n "We've made improvements, but there's so much room for growth, still." \ufeff<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n