Thunder Tops Bulls in OT

For a second straight game, it was an absolute nailbiter, with five additional minutes required to settle it between the Thunder and Bulls.

With the game tied, OKC had the ball with 9.4 seconds left and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got a solid look on a runner at the buzzer but missed long. So, naturally, there was some setup for redemption.

As the shot clock drained, Gilgeous-Alexander calmly drew a foul on a 3 with 27.4 seconds left, then even more calmly hit three free throws to give the Thunder a lead they wouldn’t give back. Lu Dort battled through what seemed like 25 screens by Nikola Vucevic to stick with DeMar DeRozan and force a midrange miss, then Gilgeous-Alexander sealed it at the line with two more free throws, 123-119.

It was noticeable, the progress from two nights ago where some lessons were learned against the veteran Nuggets in overtime. The Thunder couldn’t find the critical stops or scrap together offense, and lost. But against Chicago, behind hustle, toughness and some timely playmaking, the Thunder found some team redemption, too.

Things started slow for the Thunder – it’s never a great thing when a timeout gets called before the fans get to sit down – with OKC falling in a 14-2 hole. But as the Thunder are known to do, they fought back into the game, closing the first quarter on a, well, 30-16 run to actually lead by two.

It finished with OKC getting five consecutive stops, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hitting a twisting, fading, falling buzzer-beater.

The change after the early timeout featured noticeably more physicality for OKC, with every shot by Chicago fully contested. Closeouts were sharper, switches cleaner and weakside rotation on time and on point. Defense energized the offense and the Thunder were able to wipe away the rugged start quickly.

Both teams were fully into utilizing their benches, and the Thunder added Josh Giddey and Aleksej Pokuševski into a lineup with Kenrich Williams, Tre Mann and Darius Bazley.

OKC was mismatch hunting, forcing switches to catch smaller guards on Pokuševski, who was able to take advantage on short rolls to the rim and on the block.

Speaking of the bench, Isaiah Joe has yet to cool off, as he hit his first two 3s, which extends a streak of consecutive made 3s to nine. That’s right: nine!

The Thunder have been an excellent third quarter team all season, on both ends of the floor, but in this third quarter is was primarily the defensive end that stood out.

OKC held the Bulls to 21 points on 7-24 shooting to win the quarter by seven. Darius Bazley’s individual defense on DeMar DeRozan was spectacular, with Bazley staying down on pump fakes and rejecting DeRozan’s patented fadeaway. It’s something Bazley did multiple times last season against the Bulls, and it was clear he did his homework again on the matchup.

And much like the first quarter, the Thunder scrapped through some lulls offensively to come up with some timely buckets late, including a Pokuševski runner at the buzzer.

It felt like the first minutes of the fourth would be big, and the same group that started the second opened the final frame. And mainly behind grit and hustle, they maintained the lead, finding buckets through multiple efforts and second chances. Giddey had a putback after a scramble. Kenrich Williams stole outlet passes and created scoring chances. Pokuševski and Bazley blocked shots at the rim.

Two major moments in the fourth: Kenrich Williams flew in for a putback to tie the game with 1:38 left and, then the team toughness to secure the rebound as both teams wrestled for it with 10 seconds left.

Another lesson in the importance of experience: Giddey played the overtime against the Nuggets two nights ago, and was on the floor again to close against the Bulls, with his impact noticeably different. With the Bulls leaning heavily toward Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC adjusted to put the ball in Giddey’s hands, with him running pick-and-roll with Kenrich Williams. Once, he found Kenrich on a dive, then on consecutive plays Giddey got to the rim for layups. The way you get these kinds of incremental steps is by going through the growth required, which is what the overtime against the Nuggets presented.

Another great moment in mental toughness: Gilgeous-Alexander left a jumper short, but the ball was trying to will its way into the rim, crawling over the front of the iron and falling in. But Dort flew in – hustling, as always – and tried to jam it back, but was called for goaltending. It felt like it could be a swing moment, and right after, Dort fouled DeRozan on a jumper. But Dort shook it off and on the biggest defensive possession of the game, forced the miss by DeRozan for OKC to seal it.