What a crazy sequence that was to end the game. After everyone catches their breath and fully processed what just happened, let’s recap how the final 4.5 seconds of the game went:

Down 110-107, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received the ball and nails a 31-foot heave of shot after just two seconds to tie the game and give the Thunder an improbable shot at a win. There was a lot of contact involved but no whistle was blown. With just 2.3 seconds left and the full court distance to go, most would assume that the game would go into overtime. But Devonte’ Graham had other thoughts.

The Pelicans would inbound the ball to Graham, who took one dribble and let go a 61-foot prayer that banked in. Much to the shocked faces of the Thunder players on the court, the game was over like that and there would be no OT.

First off, this must be heartbreaking for the team to lose a game like this. Especially in the fashion of losing to the longest buzzer-beater in the NBA in 25 years. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault even mentioned after the game that the locker room was in shock still and the vibes from the players who spoke with media gave off the feeling that they were still processing what exactly just happened in that five second window.

It was a crazy finish that will probably go down as the most memorable five seconds of the NBA regular season this year. I know it’s still early and only December, but I think that is a fair bet to make.

With all that said, if fans were asked how a perfect Thunder game would play out before the season began, tonight’s game was the best example of it. All of the young players played well and played in a close, competitive — and most importantly — entertaining game while losing to a team that is a direct rival for lottery odds. Tonight could not have gone any better for the Thunder fanbase and its long term ambitions. It sounds backwards to say this, but considering the standings and the grim news the Pelicans received about Zion Williamson’s setback, losing tonight’s game was crucial if the Thunder are to end up with top three lottery odds.

Now, let’s take a look at some player grades.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A+

I mean, does it get any better than this? Gilgeous-Alexander looked like a stat and his stats back it up as he finished with 33 points on 10-of-25 shooting while going a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line and an efficient 4-of-8 from deep.

Graham’s once-in-a-generation game winner should not take away from Gilgeous-Alexander’s crazy shot to tie the game up. The level of difficulty of that shot is astonishing. A side step 30+ foot heave three in two seconds should not be forgotten for despite what occurred immediately afterwards.

After hitting a recent shooting slump his past two games, Gilgeous-Alexander came back with a great performance that showed that he’s still that guy.

Josh Giddey: A

Playing all of his minutes with Gilgeous-Alexander, the rookie guard finished with a near triple double stat line of 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Daigneault has mentioned all season that he would like to see Gilgeous-Alexander and Giddey play off of each more often and synergize their roles together as it will be a crucial development for the future of the backcourt that both guys can be on the court at the same time for most of the game.

Well, tonight both guys said that they loved playing with each other and really think their games compliment one another.

“I honestly loved it. It’s the first time we’ve done it,” Giddey said after the game. “Shai draws so much attention and creates so much space for me.”

Kenrich Williams: A

Against his former team, Williams had his best scoring game of the season as he finished with 17 points while shooting 6-of-9 and making a career-high 5-of-6 threes.

Williams was just really good tonight and made all the right plays. Which is cliché and has been used to describe Williams’ game ever since his arrival in Oklahoma City, but it’s really hard to think of another way to describe his performance tonight that would justify it.

Tre Mann: B

It’s hard to believe that Mann has never really dunked before. Especially considering how he laid out another poster — this time against Pelicans forward Garrett Temple.

He also snatched the ankles of Pelicans guard Tomas Satoransky as he blew by for an easy layup.

Overall, Mann finished with nine points and four assists in just 23 minutes due to fouling out. Daigneault has previously preached that he wants his players to play freely and not be worried about fouling out.

I’m of the mindset that every minute you take a guy off the court with fouls, you’re fouling him out of the game as a coach,” Daigneault said last month “I’ve always been that mentality to make them foul them out of the game.”

Mike Muscala: A

Whenever you can get 16 points off the bench from your backup stretch five, that’s always a major plus for a team. That was the case tonight for the Thunder as Muscala scored 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting.

The 30-year-old veteran has had some of his best seasons with the Thunder and is always a positive on the court as he knows what to do and who he is.

The rebuilding Thunder have a nice advantage of having two solid veterans that can contributewhenever called up in Williams and Muscala.

Tanking efforts: A+

Two months into the season and it is safe to say that the Pelicans will be one of the Thunder’s main tanking rivals with the news that Williamson’s return is up in the air and the fact that they are now 9-21 with some of the league’s worst peripheral stats that indicate this is only going to get worse.

So losing tonight’s game was important due to tiebreakers and that’s exactly what the Thunder did. It feels weird seeing fans root for loses, but a small market team like the Thunder have no other way to return to contention.

Despite how good Giddey has been, a repeat of last year’s lottery luck would be a nightmare and could seriously hurt the franchise’s long term health. The best way to avoid that doomsday scenario again is by losing games like tonight. Which the Thunder did and now sit at the bottom of the Western Conference standings.