The Oklahoma City Thunder have won five of six since the NBA All-Star Break.
The Oklahoma City Thunder entered Dallas on Sunday night winners of four of five games since the NBA All-Star break and coming off an emotionally charged win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. And this game was expected to be a blowout given the delta in talent between these two squads, and that’s exactly what it was. OKC won by a final score of 100-87.
The Thunder started a bit slow in the first four or five minutes, but they quickly turned things up, began to build a lead by the end of the first quarter, and from there kept the foot on the gas and never looked back. And though the Mavericks did get within a dozen points in the fourth quarter, it never really felt like the Mavs had a chance from the jump.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was phenomenal in this one, and his 20-plus point scoring streak continued tonight. In the third quarter, he stepped up at the free throw line and eclipsed that 20-point mark. Jared McCain was a big spark in the first half, scoring nine points before the break. Isaiah Joe had another great night as well, including an eight-point flurry of his own in the fourth quarter that helped the Thunder put the game away for good.
And Chet Holmgren, in one of his better games of late coming off that 21-rebound performance, had the offense going and took a high volume of shots, which is good to see from a player like him. Even though his three-point shot was off, he was a menace on defense, as he normally is.
These are the kinds of games where there’s not a ton to overthink. This is a game the Thunder should have won big, and it did win big.
Now, Oklahoma City will look ahead to a road matchup against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday as winners of five of six games since the break, hoping to keep the momentum rolling, continue building a cushion between them and the San Antonio Spurs, and maintain that number one seed in the Western Conference.