(Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
The Oklahoma City Thunder wanted to honor some of their Canadian players, and taking them to Montreal to face the Detroit Pistons for the preseason was a nice way to do it.
It didn’t take long before the locals took a step forward, with Lu Dort taking the first three shots for his team.
Notably, Thunder players seemed more than happy to let their teammate steal the show en route to a 128-125 loss.
Despite the loss, the Bell Centre was roaring, praising and cheering Dort, who made sure to put on a show for his hometown fans.
A crowd of 21,000 got on their feet with every Dort make, and the rest of the team took notice of that, feeding him early and often.
Following the game, the standout 3-and-D player talked about how honored he felt for having the opportunity to play in front of his fans, expressing his gratitude to the NBA and the Thunder for allowing him to do that.
❝I was really happy for the Thunder and NBA to make that possible…I’m honored to play that game tonight.❞ pic.twitter.com/qnWXJkie3D
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 13, 2023
Dort led all scorers with 18 first-half points on 6-of-10 from the floor, including 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.
He finished the game with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting, but he didn’t play a single minute in the fourth quarter, as usually happens with the starters in these seemingly meaningless preseason games.
Notably, fellow Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also made a bit of a statement early in the game, with him and Dort combining for 14 of their team’s 16 points.
Basketball continues to grow all over the world, and Canada is slowly but steadily becoming a bit of a powerhouse.
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