OKLAHOMA CITY — For Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 103-101 loss to the Toronto Raptors at home, which was its second loss in two days, was “one of those nights” that a team goes through. Losing a four-point lead to back-to-back threes from Immanuel Quickley, Gilgeous-Alexander, and the Thunder never regained its advantage in the final 1:16.

Gilgeous-Alexander felt the Thunder were in a position to win, even though the defending champions never led by more than seven points.

“Personally, it felt like we had control of the game. We were getting good looks, offensively,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They had 103 points tonight. That usually does it for us. It was just one of those nights.”

After being held to nine points in the first half, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 11 of his 24 points in the third quarter of the Thunder’s two-point loss. However, he finished with only two points in the final frame, as the Raptors’ double-team got the ball out of SGA’s hands in the fourth quarter, as it mainly did throughout the first half.

He was 8-for-11 from the floor and 8-for-10 from the free-throw line. Gilgeous-Alexander also finished with six assists, two blocks, and one steal. Quickley’s 23 points, including six threes, led six Raptors players in double figures. RJ Barrett finished with 14 points, and Brandon Ingram added 13.

Mark Daigneault’s hard truth about Thunder’s loss

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Thunder Head Coach Mark Daigneault gestures to his team during a play against the Toronto Raptors in the second half at Paycom Center
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Head coach Mark Daigneault didn’t hold back on the Thunder’s late-game execution in a loss at home as the defending champions surrendered their second consecutive loss at the Paycom Center. Daigneault commended the Raptors for converting critical buckets down the stretch to earn a two-point win on the road.

“They obviously made some shots and some plays. We didn’t. When you get down to that point of the game, it comes down to time management, clock management. I thought we did a decent job of that and gave ourselves a chance,” Daigneault said. “But when you get into a game that’s that close, it’s going to come down to makes and misses. And the trick is: can you play a floor game throughout the 48 where you have more control of it to that point?

“But we’ve found ourselves in that situation the last couple of nights. We’ve done a decent job of trying to give ourselves a chance to win. It hasn’t gone our way, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from it.”

The Thunder will look to avoid a 0-3 home stand when it faces the Pelicans on Tuesday.