Thunder's Mark Daigneault celebrates Isaiah Joe's 'unwavering confidence' vs. Bulls
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OKLAHOMA CITY — In 2024-25, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe has a few signature shooting performances under his belt, connecting on eight threes on three separate occasions, including Monday’s 145-117 win against the Chicago Bulls. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault watched Joe drain eight threes twice in January. After making five in Saturday’s win against the Indiana Pacers, Isaiah did it again in the first half against the Bulls.
He made five threes en route to 19 points before halftime. Then, Joe connected on three more from deep, tying a season-high 31 points in a 28-point blowout win against the Bulls. Daigneault says Joe’s elite shooting is a testament to his work ethic and relentless approach.
“He’s got a great approach and routine on his own, and inside the team,” Daigneault said. “He has unwavering confidence. He’s another example of a guy that shoots his shots, and his shots are more difficult than everybody else’s, obviously because of his gravity. He finds his shots, he works on his shots, and he keeps going down and shooting them.”
For Mark Daigneault, it’s another example of Joe’s unwavering confidence, and it reminded him of Isaiah’s bounce-back approach during a recent road trip to Los Angeles.
“We were in LA a couple of weeks ago against the Clippers, and he had two great looks in the fourth quarter that he missed,” Daigneault added. “And then, we put Caruso back in the game. Down the stretch, he didn’t close the game. He hates missing open shots. But he doesn’t seem to stay there very much. The next day, he’s back to it. And then, the next day, he’s shooting his shots again. It helps him work through that. It’s very impressive. He changed the game for us tonight.”
Joe, coming off a 19-point performance, including 5-for-7 from deep in a 132-111 win against the Indiana Pacers, is a combined 17-for-26 from the floor, including 13-of-21 from three in his previous two outings.
Isaiah Joe is warming up for Thunder’s postseason
With Monday’s win against the Bulls, the Thunder set an NBA record against the Eastern Conference. After the victory, Thunder guard Isaiah Joe vowed to stay in rhythm for next month’s playoffs.
It’s something Joe says he’s looking forward to.
“Playoffs are pretty much around the corner,” Joe said. “I think taking it one game at a time would be the biggest key to success for the team and me. If I can keep stacking days, stacking games, I’m going to have plenty of rhythm going into the postseason.”
The Thunder will look to extend their winning streak to 11 when they face the Pistons on Wednesday.
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