Oklahoma City pulled it together in the second half.
The Oklahoma City Thunder returned home on Friday night and took care of business against the Chicago Bulls, but it didn’t come easy early on. In fact, it was an ugly first half for Oklahoma City, as it once again played down to the level of competition and struggled to find any real rhythm offensively.
That all changed in the third quarter.
A massive 22-0 run that stretched from the middle of the third quarter into the early part of the fourth completely flipped the game and gave the Thunder full control. That run ultimately created enough separation that Mark Daigneault didn’t need to go back to his key players late, allowing Oklahoma City to cruise through the final minutes.
Even with the win, it wasn’t the cleanest night for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had one of his worst shooting performances of the season. He finished 8-of-24 from the field in just 29 minutes. Interestingly, he was efficient inside the arc, going 8-of-14 on two-point attempts, but a brutal 0-for-10 from beyond the arc tanked his overall efficiency. Still, he made his impact felt during that decisive run, scoring six of the first 13 points while he was on the floor before sitting the entire fourth quarter due to the comfortable lead.
Outside of Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder leaned on their depth once again.
Cason Wallace led the way with 21 points, continuing his strong play as a secondary scorer. Jalen Williams added 18 points, while Ajay Mitchell and Isaiah Joe chipped in 15 apiece. Jaylin Williams rounded things out with 12 points, giving Oklahoma City six players in double figures on the night.
It wasn’t pretty early, but the Thunder’s ability to flip a switch and overwhelm teams in short bursts continues to be one of their defining traits. Once they found that gear, Chicago simply didn’t have an answer.
From here, Oklahoma City will remain at Paycom Center for a Sunday night matchup against the New York Knicks.