Driving to the basket, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drew the interest of several defenders before a last-second pass out to Cason Wallace resulted in a swished corner 3.
If OKC is going to generate open looks at the rate they did at Chicago, expect several more nights similar to their season-opener.
After a competitive first half, the Oklahoma City Thunder blew the game open with an offensive outburst in their 124-104 win over the Chicago Bulls.
“Tonight, I thought the shot-making was a result of generating really really clean (shots),” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said about their offensive performance. “All five guys (played) with an intention of trying to find the best shot on most possessions.”
Carrying over their preseason production, the Thunder opened their 2023-24 season scoring points at a high clip. A 61-point first half only resulted in a six-point halftime lead as the Bulls went round-for-round against OKC in the scoring department.
The defense continued to be an issue in the opening minute of the second half, as the Bulls went on a quick 7-0 run to retake the lead. The mini-run was enough for the Thunder to call a timeout, which flipped the game as OKC outscored Chicago, 63-42, in the remainder of the contest — including a 12-0 run late in the third quarter.
“Bad start to start the third,” Daigneault said. “Came right out of that timeout and got that under control. And that’s a skill that scales — when you can recognize that stuff in the game. The team can pull together and get the car back on the road.”
The 3-point ball can be accredited for the Thunder’s explosive offense outing. OKC shot an impressive 19-of-39 (48.7%) from outside. The ball movement was crisp for the Thunder as 30 of OKC’s 45 made baskets were assisted on. Overall, OKC shot an absurd 54.9% from the field.
“We shot it well tonight and some nights you do, some nights you don’t,” Daigneault said. “We don’t have control over that. But the rhythm we generated on offense is what’s sustainable… We want to be a rhythmic team.”
Following a career season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to play like one of the best players in the league. He finished with 31 points and 10 assists. The Thunder had five additional double-digit scorers in their win.
“I think guys are just playing unselfish,” Jalen Williams said. “Everybody is kinda buying in on how we like to play. I don’t think anybody really cares who’s getting the shots.”
Meanwhile, the Bulls struggled on offense. After a 35-point first quarter, the Bulls finished with just 104 points and shot 41.5% from the field. The outside shot didn’t fall for Chicago as it went 12-of-42 (28.6%) from deep.
The scoring duo of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan struggled against OKC. LaVine had 16 points on 4-of-16 shooting and DeRozan had 20 points on 9-of-20 shooting.
“It takes a team defense to be good against players of that caliber,” Daigneault said. “To zoom out on that one, we want to be a team that improves with our experiences. We did not defend in the preseason, in camp or in the games the way that we’re capable of. I thought we got great work in our practice over the weekend and obviously that carried over into tonight.”
It’s just the first of 82-plus games, but this was about as impressive of a performance as the Thunder could’ve turned in for their season-opener. It’s evident that OKC is building something special with its young core blended with innovative coaching.
Let’s assign Thunder player grades.