Bennett Stirtz Headlines OKC Thunder's Close Battle Against Nuggets

OKC’s rookie guard did everything in his power to help the Thunder keep up in their latest bout. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder were in a tough battle on Tuesday night, as they took on the Denver Nuggets in the team’s third Summer League game in Las Vegas. The Summer League hasn’t been the kindest to the OKC squad, as they had yet to walk away from a game with a win. 

Tuesday seemed like the team’s best opportunity to do so, as Oklahoma City was in striking distance late in the game, but in the end would suffer another loss, 106-103. While this was a devastating loss for the team, the OKC guards showed big leaps in their play, specifically Bennett Stirtz. 

Stirtz showed out in Tuesday night’s bout, leading the team with 22 points on 50% shooting from the field. The rookie guard made play after play, including a clutch three-point bucket with just a minute left to bring the game within two. 

Stirtz has had good scoring nights this summer, like when he put up 18 against the Lakers on July 10, but he added some playmaking that hasn’t been seen on Tuesday night. Stirtz racked up six assists on Tuesday, finding his open teammates with ease. He and the Thunder’s newest big showed some chemistry as Stirtz connected with Aday Mara multiple times to get the big man easy buckets. 

This all-around performance from Stirtz was electrifying to see, and although it didn’t lead to a win, it could allow for the young buck to get some minutes during the regular season. With OKC parting ways with both Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe, spots have been left open for players to fill. While it could be easier to just give guys like Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain more minutes, Stirtz has shown he can be valuable to the lineup. 

The young guard could allow both Mitchell and McCain to play freely and help them get open looks, as well as knock down shots himself. Stirz will have to work on hitting his shots from deep more consistently, but that will come over time. 

The Summer League has not been what the Thunder had hoped for by any means, but there are still positives that have shown themselves. This has come in the form of the Thunder rookies showing they are ready to take the next step and contribute in the regular season, and Tuesday night was the cherry on top for Stirtz’s case.