NBA: Ousmane Dieng's first double-double carries Bucks past Thunder

Ousmane Dieng scored a season-high 19 points and helped the Milwaukee Bucks secure a 110-93 road victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.

Playing in Oklahoma City for the first time since being traded by the Thunder at last week’s trade deadline, Dieng recorded his first career double-double with 11 rebounds, six assists, and four blocks. Both his rebounding and block totals were career highs.

The Bucks pulled away with a 20-4 run in the second quarter after Oklahoma City had erased an eight-point deficit to tie the game. Kyle Kuzma contributed nine points during the stretch, while Dieng added six. After that surge, the Thunder never got closer than seven points.

Milwaukee was coached by Darvin Ham on Thursday, as head coach Doc Rivers was attending a funeral. AJ Green added 17 points for the Bucks, who had seven players score in double figures.

The Thunder struggled offensively without primary ballhandlers Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, along with sixth man Ajay Mitchell. Thursday marked just the second time this season Oklahoma City scored fewer than 100 points, with 93 being the team’s lowest regular-season total since March 24, 2024 — coincidentally, also against the Bucks. Isaiah Hartenstein also missed the game for injury management.

Gilgeous-Alexander has been sidelined since Feb. 3 with an abdominal strain, the same injury keeping Mitchell out since Jan. 21. Williams aggravated a hamstring injury in Wednesday’s win over the Phoenix Suns, his second game back after missing 10 contests.

Oklahoma City did get a highlight Thursday as Nikola Topic, the 12th overall pick in the 2024 draft, made his NBA debut to a standing ovation late in the first quarter. Topic, who missed all of last season due to a knee injury and was later diagnosed with testicular cancer, finished with two points in 12:22 of play.

Isaiah Joe led the Thunder with 17 points, while Chet Holmgren added 16 points and 13 rebounds.

The Bucks, who improved to 5-4 since Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a calf injury, have won five of their last six games heading into the All-Star break. The Thunder saw their two-game winning streak come to an end.

—Field Level Media/Reuters