OKLAHOMA CITY — Fouled on a 3-pointer, Isaiah Joe completed the 4-point play to push OKC’s lead to 11 points with under two minutes left.
The Oklahoma City Thunder scared off any threat of a potential 18-point blown lead with a 116-102 win over the Chicago Bulls. The win extends OKC’s winning streak to six games, the longest active streak in the league.
“We got gritty in the last 15 minutes of the game,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win. “We kinda opened up a little bit of a lead again after they came back and tied it and then we clamped down pretty good. I thought our focus was good. Everything they got was earned at that point for the most part.”
The Thunder built a 26-14 lead following the first quarter. By halftime, OKC had a 50-39 lead. A slow second-half opening by OKC allowed the Bulls to tie it at 67 apiece. After that, the Thunder managed to quickly rebuild their lead and entered the final frame leading 77-84.
In the fourth quarter, the Bulls teased a comeback but couldn’t get closer than three points. Following Joe’s 4-point play, it extinguished any chance of a Bulls upset win.
Overall, the Thunder shot 49% from the field and went 11-of-29 (37.9%) from 3. OKC also got a friendly whistle as it went 31-of-38 (81.6%) from the free-throw line. This marked a season-high in attempts.
“I thought the way the game got called tonight was a lot closer (to) the way we expected it coming into the season,” Daigneault said on OKC’s season-high 38 free-throw attempts. “The way it was called last year. I thought the contact tonight was no different than the contact we faced earlier in the season.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for the Thunder as he scored a game-high 40 points and went a season-high 17-of-18 from the free-throw line. Chet Holmgren contributed with 18 points and 13 rebounds for the double-double.
On the opposite side, the Bulls struggled without Zach LaVine — who missed the game after some initial confusion about his availability. Chicago shot 39% from the field. A hot outside shooting night kept it in it as it went 17-of-44 (38.6%) from deep.
Coby White headlined the Bulls’ hot 3-point shooting night as he scored 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting from 3. DeMar DeRozan led Chicago with 25 points and went a perfect 13-of-13 from the free-throw line. Nikola Vucevic collected a 16-point and 12-rebound double-double.
It wasn’t the prettiest win, but the Thunder scrapped out a quality home victory against a Bulls team on the verge of blowing up. OKC now improved its record to an impressive 11-4 on the young season, good enough for second place thus far in the Western Conference.
“Collectively, we didn’t shoot it as well as we have,” Daigneault said. “We needed to win a different way tonight and to the credit of the guys, we found a way to do that.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
It was business per usual for the All-NBA guard.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 40 points on an efficient 11-of-19 shooting. He shot a season-high 17-of-18 from the free-throw line and dished out a season-high 12 assists.
“He had a really good floor game offensively aside from all the scoring,” Daigneault said on Gilgeous-Alexander.
Given a chance to pad his points, a couple of late trips to the free-throw line allowed Gilgeous-Alexander to soak in the home crowd chanting MVP. It’s become a tradition at this point in Paycom Center every time he goes off for a high-scoring game.
The 25-year-old also made some history in the win. After scoring his fourth point, he passed Serge Ibaka for the third-most points scored in Thunder history. An impressive feat for someone who’s only in his fifth season with the franchise.
“It’s cool. Stuff like that is always cool,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on his achievement. “You dream of it as a kid. Obviously, the list has some heavy hitters on it. Honored to be on the list.”
Turning the jets 🔛 pic.twitter.com/MtZm7z0HwH
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 23, 2023
🪄 ➡️ 2️⃣ pic.twitter.com/9O1HzCmLyX
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 23, 2023
Nice little fadeaway for our guy SGA! 👏#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/F87EJCjUA2
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) November 23, 2023
Flows smooth like Thanksgiving gravy 🦃#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/CunVHN2koc
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) November 23, 2023
SGA ↔️ Chet 🎯 pic.twitter.com/taJh1Tw3S4
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 23, 2023
Bit of give-and-go 🤝 between SGA and Aaron Wiggins!#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/InVw4GJzik
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) November 23, 2023
Chet Holmgren: B
Playing in a rhythm over his last few games, Holmgren looked much more comfortable this time around against the Bulls.
In 32 minutes, Holmgren collected 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting, 13 rebounds and four blocks. He went 8-of-11 from the free-throw line as the Bulls struggled to contain him inside.
It’s no coincidence that he and Gilgeous-Alexander finished with the highest plus-minus on the team at plus-18 and plus-16 respectively. The guard-center duo continues to prosper as the season progresses.
“Things have definitely slowed down a lot for me on both ends after playing a few games,” Holmgren said on getting more comfortable. “It’s a lot less calculated and just making more reads.”
Holmgren floats to the rim! #ThunderUp |@okcthunder | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/yY8dmFUE8G
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) November 23, 2023
Chet with the swat 🚫 pic.twitter.com/u1T34DKQLJ
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 23, 2023
Heads up, 7 🆙
@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/dSHnMdBKST— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 23, 2023
Isaiah Joe: A-plus
Unconsciousness wouldn’t even begin to describe the recent tear Joe’s been on from 3. In his last five games, he’s shot 77.8% from 3 on 5.4 attempts.
Against the Bulls, Joe scored 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting including going 5-of-7 from 3. He’s quickly shooting his way up in the rotation as he played the fifth-most minutes.
“Tonight we didn’t shoot as hot from the floor. But Isaiah Joe didn’t get the memo. He was still making shots,” Holmgren joked about Joe.
The biggest play by Joe was the aforementioned 4-point play that pushed OKC’s lead to 11 points with under two minutes, essentially sealing the fate.
“Imma shoot it every time like it’s going in,” Joe said on his 3-point shooting.
Win the jump, finish the play 😤 pic.twitter.com/hQaAkUbkCv
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 23, 2023
Zai workin’ on both ends 🫡 pic.twitter.com/UBbF3wmr13
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 23, 2023
Running up the charges 💳 pic.twitter.com/KeRii9A2af
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 23, 2023
Count it x 3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/HjuK8eqkjq
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 23, 2023
Kenrich Williams: B
Williams was the other big bench piece from this win.
With Lu Dort and Josh Giddey struggling and Jalen Williams out, the 28-year-old wing stepped up. In 23 minutes off the bench, Williams had 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting and five rebounds. he shot 3-of-3 from 3 in the win.
Williams continues to provide OKC with solid wing minutes regardless of role.
“He does all the little things teams need to win basketball games,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on Williams’ performance. “You saw it multiple ways tonight… That’s where he hangs his hat every night and he was great tonight.”
KRich put this one on a string 🪡 pic.twitter.com/SN5SY4BTsG
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 23, 2023
