The Thunder continue to do what they do best.
The Oklahoma City Thunder hosted the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night for the squad's home opener of the season. This game was a grind, as the Thunder went down early in this bout and put themselves in a hole that was hard to dig out of. Luckily, the Thunder were able to do so and ended up pulling out the win, 96-84.
OKC started this game playing from behind, as they trailed at the end of the first quarter and at the end of halftime. This was no doubt a result of the Thunder’s struggle to get the ball in the basket. This affected almost everyone, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t make a single shot in the first half. OKC seemed to not be able to lean on just its shot-making ability, but it could lean on what it does best, its defense.
Oklahoma City didn’t put too much pressure on the Nuggets in the first quarter, but it ramped up afterwards. The Thunder were tipping passes and grabbing steals left and right, and this ultimately allowed them to win the game.
The Thunder caused Denver to turn the ball over 22 times in Thursday night’s game, and 12 of those were because of OKC steals. This effort was led by Ajay Mitchell and Cason Wallace, as Mitchell recorded five steals and Wallace recorded four. This effort proved that a good defense is a good offense, with the Thunder scoring 21 points off of Denver mistakes.
This defense not only turned into offense, but it also allowed OKC to stay in the game, with Denver scoring only 36 points in the second half. The Thunder can thank the steals for this, as well as the big guy down low, Chet Holmgren, who had four blocks in this bout, protecting the rim.
This defensive presence is something that the Thunder have had for the past couple of seasons, and it is good to see it has remained with a small roster change this offseason. It’s also promising to see that the Thunder can find ways to win when they aren’t shooting the ball well.
OKC will be looking to continue this defensive pressure for the rest of the year and will also be looking to pair it with the team’s regular offensive production. If the Thunder can piece together how to have a consistent offense and defense throughout the whole season, they’ll have no problem as the season continues.
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