Burton clutch for Thunder in fourth quarter, overtime
Deonte Burton is known more for his burly 6-foot5, 250-pound frame and highlight-reel dunks, but he had an all-around fourth quarter and overtime for the Thunder on Tuesday.
Burton scored all 16 of his points in the fourth and overtime, including three 3-pointers in OT to lift the Thunder to a 119-115 victory over Milwaukee.
“It meant the world just because this is the best league in the world,” Burton said. “... so it means the world to play on this level and showcase my talent.”
Burton scored 11 of the Thunder’s 12 points in overtime, his 3-pointer with 21.5 seconds left putting OKC ahead for good. Burton, a two-way player who played in Korea last season and starred for the Thunder’s summer league team this summer, also provided key defense as the Thunder and Bucks traded 3-pointers in extra time.
“I thought he played a great second half, more under control than the first half,” Thunder coach Billy
Donovan said. “I thought that first half was good for him, just that he was trying to create and make things happen and be aggressive, but it really didn’t work out well for him.
“He was aggressive in the second half in the right way. He was doing the right things when he needed to be aggressive.”
Bucks’ Budenholzer sees Schröder being successful
For five years, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer and
Thunder guard Dennis
Schröder shared the locker room in Atlanta. That ended unceremoniously this offseason.
The Hawks went in a different direction. Budenholzer left Atlanta for Milwaukee. Schröder was traded to Oklahoma City. But the former Hawks coach admitted he missed his former point guard, who had to leave Tuesday’s game against the Bucks late in the second quarter after taking an inadvertent elbow to the back of the head from Paul
George.
“I was thinking about missing him today,” Budenholzer said. “It was great to work with him for five years. I think he’s going to fit in well and it’s just going to continue to give him an opportunity to grow and move in the right direction.”
Before his trade in July, Schröder made it clear to Hawks staff that he wasn’t happy with the direction the franchise was going. Last week, Schröder told The Athletic he could have worked harder in his final season in Atlanta, but Budenholzer said Tuesday that Schröder was being too hard on himself.
Still, Budenholzer didn’t shy away from saying it was a challenge to coach Schröder.
He also didn’t say it was a negative.
“He wants to be great. That’s one thing you always want from players,” Budenholzer said. “He can challenge you and that makes you be better. You’ve got to be more on point.
“But I’ve enjoyed working with him. He learned and grew a lot, and I did too as a young coach.”
PG red hot
The only thing that could slow down George was a shot to the head with 26.4 seconds left in the first quarter.
Otherwise, George was the Thunder’s offense in the first period, logging 19 points and 6-of-8 shooting. The rest of the Thunder shot just 2-of-12 in the first quarter.
George looked ready for the regular season, finishing the first half with 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including a reverse layup to beat the halftime buzzer. George, Schröder and Steven Adams were all rested in the second half.