Daigneault lauds Wallace progress after returning to form in Sixers win

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said that allowing his players to work through dips in form was crucial for their progression.

Daigneault watched on as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points and Jalen Williams had 24 to lead the Thunder to a 118-102 win over a short-handed Philadelphia 76ers.

Gilgeous-Alexander also dished out nine assists, joining Isaiah Hartenstein (nine points, 16 rebounds) in barely missing a double-double, while Cason Wallace notched 18 points.

The Sixers were without three All-Stars on Tuesday, with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George all injured as their slide down the Eastern Conference continued.

The Thunder improved to 33-6 for the season, but what pleased Daigneault most has been his side's response to their 129-122 defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Wallace, in particular, has impressed recently. The 21-year-old point guard's early struggles at the Thunder were part of their dip from the league's best shooting team a year ago.

Daigneault chalked up several reasons for that slump, many of them part of the Thunder's growth in adding versatility, both individually and in its arsenal of play styles.

"When guys are trying to improve parts of their game, it’s not always a smooth process," said Daigneault.

"There’s going to be some regression. We’re willing to work through those dips with those guys because we know, on the other side of it, they’re going to be better players."

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Wallace's reputation was built almost instantly a year ago. Although he is still in the infancy of his career, he has endured a slight dip in form this season.

In his first 25 games this year, Wallace made just 29.8% of his threes, leading to widespread criticism of his performances.

But through the previous 12 games entering Tuesday, Wallace connected on 42.9% of his 3s, with a two-for-five showing from deep in Philly.

"Just being a hooper," Wallace said of returning to form. "Knowing that you’re going to have shooting slumps. And I had mine early.

"I had one last year, it just wasn’t as loud as this. Just sticking with it, knowing it will come back.

Wallace embraced more minutes, with his newfound form as a shooter among his final ambitions to achieve as a role player for the Thunder this season.

"As long as I’m adding to my game, I don’t think of it as regression," Wallace said.

"As long as I’m getting better as a player, we keep winning as a team. Maybe it’s for the better."