OKLAHOMA CITY – Shi Gilgus-Alexander scored 24 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Atlanta Hawks 118-109 on Friday night to change the uniform in the game as a mix initially left teams wearing similar colors.
The Thunder began the game wearing their sunset orange uniforms, while the Hawks wore red, making it difficult to differentiate between the teams.
“You can definitely play on the court,” said Kenrick Williams of Oklahoma City. “Just kind of – you see someone, and it’s like, ‘Oh. He’s not my teammate.'”
Oklahoma City said in a statement that the Hawks wore the wrong uniform color. The team said the league should have caught the error, but because the Hawks only brought a red uniform on their trip, the Thunder changed to white for the second half.
“I certainly didn’t notice it or even think about it,” said Thunder coach Mark Denzial. “It was a league mandate that we have just responded to. They made me aware at half-time. When I went to the locker room, people were in white uniforms. “
Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pearce was not in the mood to talk about the uniform after the loss. He felt that his team had a poor approach to the game.
“A lot of technical things, a lot of effort things that we need to clean up,” he said. “We need urgency. We need to communicate a lot better than tonight. “
Lu Dort scored 19 points and Darius Bazale added 18 points and 12 rebellions for the Thunder.
John Collins had 25 points and Clint Capella had 17 points and 21 rebounds for the Hawks. Try Young, who played at the University of Oklahoma, finished with 17 points on 7-for-21 shooting.
The Thunder were alright before the uniform switch – they shot 60% in the first half for a 63–55 lead at the break. Oklahoma City got off to a strong start in the white and led 96–80 after three quarters.
The Hawks reduced the deficit to six in the fourth quarter, but the Thunder regained control. Beazley made the enclosure, Rose, climbed to her left, then threw a two-handed jam to a monster that put Oklahoma City up 116-105.
“He’s an eccentric athlete,” Gillies-Alexander said. “He can do a lot of work in the air and rise so high. He made a regular basketball game just for the Bays, which is insane. “
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