Saturday appeared like a turning level for the Oklahoma City Thunder, a press release to the basketball global that this younger team is right here and able to begin contending for championships presently. In a highway recreation in opposition to the previous stalwart Golden State Warriors, the Thunder compelled time beyond regulation on a miraculous turnaround 3-pointer by means of Chet Holmgren at the buzzer after which proceeded to overcome the four-time champions in the further duration. Holmgren and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 76 blended issues. It used to be possibly the greatest regular-season win in franchise history that didn’t contain Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook. And then the Thunder fairly most likely exceeded it on Sunday.
No, the degree wasn’t just about as vivid. Rather than the Warriors, the Thunder have been enjoying the rebuilding Portland Trail Blazers on the highway. With maximum of Portland’s backcourt injured, the Thunder have been most likely at all times going to win somewhat with ease. They undoubtedly did so in a 134-91 romp. But what stood out used to be how successfully they scored all of the ones issues. The Thunder simply had one of the largest shooting nights in NBA history.
Oklahoma City tried 81 box objectives and made 49 of them. That’s a conversion price of 60.5%. They took 36 3-pointers and made 22 of them. That’s a conversion price of 61.1%. They tried 14 loose throws and made each unmarried one of them. All advised, it used to be the first 60-60-100 recreation in no less than the ultimate 25 years of NBA history, in line with ESPN’s Stats Williams, and while you imagine how a lot decrease 3-point quantity used to be in the NBA previous to the previous two-and-a-half a long time, it used to be virtually inarguably the maximum spectacular 60-60-100 video games any team has ever had.
And the cherry on most sensible? It wasn’t simply the core gamers doing it. The Thunder constructed any such large lead so briefly that no starter even performed in 1/2 of the recreation. Oklahoma City’s bench shot 25-of-48 (52%) from the box and 17-of-32 (53.1%) on 3’s. As underwhelming as Portland’s protection could be, this used to be an entire, team-wide decimation from most sensible to backside.
It’s evidence of thought of what this team can also be. On back-to-back nights, the Thunder proved that they may each compete with most sensible festival on the highway and take care of industry in opposition to lesser foes. All of that has been on show already this season. The 10-4 Thunder are these days tied for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The rebuild is formally over. The Thunder have arrived. If any type of observation used to be wanted, it has now been delivered.