Thunder steamrolls undermanned Warriors. Gilgeous-Alexander ignites offense, Holmgren dominates boards in a statement win.
Despite the Golden State Warriors being one of the better teams at home this season, the Oklahoma City Thunder had no problem walking into Chase Center on Friday night and pulling out a dominant 131-94 victory. It’s important context that Golden State was as undermanned as it has been all season, with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga, among others, all missing this one.
But still, the Thunder did exactly what it was supposed to do in a game that, on paper, should have been over early, and it certainly was.
When it came down to it, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 30 points through three quarters, Chet Holmgren posted 15 points and 15 rebounds, and Lu Dort finished with a game-high plus-33 in the box score. Oklahoma City used a 21-1 run to put the game away in the middle portion of the contest, then never let up, winning every single quarter along the way.
OKC was +11 in the first, +8 in the second, +10 in the third and +8 in the fourth, which is exactly how you end up with a final margin like this.
The Thunder also got double-digit points from seven different players, which speaks to how clean and balanced the night was from start to finish. Simply put, the Thunder took care of business, got its key players some rest, and got the young guys some reps during garbage time in the fourth.
From here, Oklahoma City continues the road trip with a Sunday matchup against the Suns in Phoenix. The Thunder is now 30-5, matching that same 30-5 start through 35 games from last season.