It felt like fatigue started to set in for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Playing on the second night of a road back-to-back and the third game in four nights, the Thunder — who are usually money in the third quarter — struggled coming out of halftime.
The Thunder ultimately pulled away and won their game against the Chicago Bulls, 124-110. But that didn’t happen without overcoming some adversity.
The Bulls closed out the third quarter on a 28-11 run in the final 10 minutes. After the Thunder went up 80-62 in the opening two second-half minutes, they ran out of juice. The extended Bulls run turned it into a one-point game by the start of the fourth quarter.
It felt like this game was going to come down to the final possessions and likely conclude with a duel between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Zach LaVine. The two superstar scoring guards for each team.
Instead, by the time Gilgeous-Alexander checked back into the fourth quarter at the 4:39 mark, OKC’s lead grew from one point to 10 points.
The non-SGA lineup, led by Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams, outscored the Bulls 17-8 in the first seven minutes of the quarter.
This seven-minute stretch highlighted the type of young depth the Thunder roster. They are no longer a franchise who solely relies on elite talent to bail them out like previous iterations.
The Thunder not only held their own, but actually grew their lead with their All-Star on the bench and afforded him an extended period of rest.
What a luxury to have.
The Thunder continue to be maestros with the basketball, scoring 124 points in regulation on 47-of-92 (51.1%) from the field. This included going 11-of-33 (33.3%) from 3. From the free-throw line, the Thunder shot an impressive 19-of-22 (86.4%).
The small Thunder also dominated the Bulls inside, outscoring them 64-44 in the paint.
All 10 players who checked in for the Thunder scored at least three points. Nobody took more than 18 shots. It was a well-balanced offensive attack that displayed OKC’s depth and synergy.
Since the 150 point explosion against the Boston Celtics, the Thunder are suddenly an offensive juggernaut.
In their last seven games of that stretch, the Thunder are averaging 125.7 points on 50.1% shooting and 26.9 assists. From outside, the Thunder are shooting 40.3% from 3 on 34.7 attempts.
For the Bulls, Zach LaVine struggled to make an impact. While LaVine scored 25 points, he also went an inefficient 5-of-19 from the field. LaVine did most of his scoring at the free-throw line, going 14-of-15 with 11 of those attempts occurring in the fourth quarter.
Nikola Vucevic also recorded a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Patrick Williams scored 11 of his 18 points in the third quarter. Coby White finished with 19 points off the bench.
The young Thunder had every reason to lose this game as it felt like a scheduled loss. Instead, they continue to show the rest of the league that they’re knocking on the door a lot sooner than most anticipate.
With the win, the Thunder are suddenly just half a game back from the 10th-seeded Phoenix Suns. It feels like the tides have turned during this road back-to-back. After being projected to have high lottery odds, perhaps it’s time to discuss the Thunder as a serious playoff contender.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.