Oklahoma City Thunder Begin Championship Defense with Dramatic Double Overtime Victory
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came to Oklahoma City back in 2019.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored the winning points late in a second overtime period as the Oklahoma City Thunder opened their championship campaign with a 125-124 victory over the Houston Rockets.
Last season's MVP poured in a team-high 35 points, including two clutch free throws with just 2.3 seconds left in the second overtime, giving the titleholders a positive start.
Houston's Alperun Sengun led all scorers with a game-high 39 and also connected on a career-high five shots from beyond the arc.
But Chet Holmgren, who contributed 28 points, played a major role together with match-winner Gilgeous-Alexander.
"Determination and defence," SGA commented of their performance. "We know that when we execute defensively we give ourselves a opportunity no matter what's going on—shots, misses, fortune or misfortune. We did enough defensive work to get the win. We're still shaking off rust, but it's a positive beginning."
Before the tip-off, the team's title banner was unveiled at their arena, while the players were presented with their title rings.
The Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers in the previous season's best-of-seven NBA Finals. It was their first title since the team relocated in 2008 to OKC from Seattle, who had claimed the 1979 crown.
The Pacers will have the chance to get some early revenge on this Friday when they host Oklahoma, while the Rockets are back on court on the identical day at the Detroit Pistons.
In other action, a huge performance of 43 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists from the Slovenian star was not enough to prevent his current team the Los Angeles Lakers from suffering a 119-109 loss against the Golden State Warriors.
Jimmy Butler scored 31 points and Stephen Curry chipped in 23 for the visiting Warriors.
The Lakers were without the league's top scorer LeBron James as he is recovering from sciatica.
