Thunder 124, Warriors 112: The Day After Report

Nuggets and Notes

• First things first, a game starting at 10 pm CT is not acceptable to someone at my age.
• The defending champs walked into Chase Center and left 21–1 on the season, extending the win streak to 13. The Thunder is a 2-point loss away from being 22-0. Bonkers stuff, really.
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put on a performance: 38 points on 13-of-21 shooting, 5-of-6 from three and 7-of-10 at the line, with 4 assists and 0 (!) turnovers.
• For much of the first half, the Warriors stayed within striking distance, before a flurry by SGA in the final minute to give OKC a 19-point lead at the break. After a few quick points to start the second half to give the Thunder a 22-point lead, it looked like the champs would again be cruising to another dominant win and a sleepy fourth.
• But the Warriors were not interested in getting blown out again. The Warriors took OKC to task without Steph Curry and without Jimmy Butler for the second half.
• Golden State’s bench was legitimately hot: Pat Spencer (17), Seth Curry (14), Gary Payton II (13), Buddy Hield (13) all scored in double figures.
• GSW pushed back on the typical Thunder blueprint for success. The turnover battle was close (16 for GSW, and 15 for OKC) and points off turnovers was close (23 for OKC, 20 for GSW). OKC winning the points off turnovers battle is one of its biggest strengths, and the Warriors neutralized that.
• OKC had only 4 offensive rebounds and gave up 12. Like I said, we miss you, Isaiah Hartenstein.
• Jalen Williams looked back: 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting, 6 assists, 3 boards, and a tidy 1 steal/1 block.
• Chet Holmgren was also very good: 21 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists on 8-of-12 from the field and 2-of-3 from deep, plus a go-ahead three from the top of the arc with 6:02 to play that flipped momentum back to OKC. Chet, Dub, and SGA scored 24 of OKC's 33 fourth-quarter points. It sure is nice to have our big 3 back together.
• Ajay Mitchell got the start with Lu Dort out. Mitchell didn't fill up the box score at the same level we've grown accustomed to, but the 6MOY candidate still made an impact: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists on 4-of-6 shooting and 2-of-3 from deep, a team-high +16.
• OKC has won 13 straight and is on a 78-win pace.

One Key Takeaway

For the fourth-straight game, the reigning title holders had to grind out a win. The reality is that while OKC's talent can overwhelm its opponent on many nights, the team on the other side is still going to be an NBA team that will want to give the Thunder its best shot.

And through the first 22 games of the season, the Thunder continue to survive each punch (well, except for that Portland game), and are off to the second-best start in NBA history–trailing only the 2015-16 Warriors who started 24-0.