Stiles Points: OKC Thunder Come Back Kids Routine Helps Solidify Contender Status

OKC Thunder have the ability to come from behind in dramatic fashion which elevates their status as contenders.

There are a few key ways to tell a team is a contender. You need a star (or multiple), you need a quality coach, quality role players, injury luck, and mental toughness. Part of the recipe for a contender is how you deal with adversity. 

Things are not going to go smoothly each game or possession, and at times, things are going to go south. When the postseason hits, if you let those games or possessions spiral in a best-of-seven format, you will be on a bird to Cancun in no time.

On Sunday, it felt like "one of those games" or a night where the Thunder "Just do not have it" as the two sides traded blows in the first quarter, a disastrous offensive start to the second quarter nearly doomed the Thunder. 

Oklahoma City got down by as many as 16, and it felt as though nothing was going to click for the sixth straight time in the Toyota Center. 

However, the Thunder's never-say-die attitude was on display again, winning their league-best 12th game after being behind by double-digit points. 

The Thunder overcame a 16-point deficit this evening against the Rockets to claim their 12th double-digit comeback of the season. That’s the most in the NBA. Per Thunder PR.

— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) February 26, 2024

Oklahoma City has what it takes the make the most out of a bad situation. It was their superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who steadied the waters with his typical 36 points, seven assists, five rebounds, three steals, and a block. 

Though, it was rookie big man Chet Holmgren who took over this game and allowed the Thunder to go from being down 16 to up as many as 17. Holmgren did it all on the defensive end, running the floor offensively, splashing in three's, and even hammering a put back dunk as an exclamation point on the Thunder's comeback victory. The Gonzaga product finished with 29 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, a steal, and three blocks. 

On the back of them mixing in Lu Dort's 16 points, and a trio of bench scorers with five or more points, with the team shooting 48 percent from beyond the arc. Those are the marks that along with the Thunder's big three (Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren, and Jalen Williams) makes them legitimate contenders. 

Stiles Points

• Jaylin Williams has made a really good impact off the bench for the last three games he has appeared in. Against the Rockets, the Arkansas product had five points, as many rebounds, and an assist while being a plus-six in this game. As he plays well off of Chet Holmgren, and elongates the team's depth, the Sophomore has a spot in the Thunder rotation. 
• Mark Daigneault said after the game the team understood they were not playing to their standard in the second quarter: "We showed great recognition there that the way we were playing wasn't gonna cut it. The physicality - we really amped up, midway through the 2nd quarter. That was the game right there. We were dogs in the 2nd half." While it is great that the team grasped the need to flip the switch, with Daigneault using the dog analogy made so popular by the Thunder's post game barking, are we inching closer to OKC's bench boss howling in the back ground of the team's postgame interviews?
• Holmgren recorded 29 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three blocks tonight against the Rockets. He joins Kevin Durant as the only other Thunder player to register those numbers.
• The Thunder maintains the longest current win-streak in the Western Conference (five games) and OKC is now tied for the best record (40-17) in the West.
• With this win, matching the Thunder's win total from this past season, Oklahoma City is officially contenders according to Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson.

Song of the Day: Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough by Michael Jackson

---

EXCLUSIVE: Keyontae Johnson Beats the Odds, with an NBA All-Star Weekend Appearance As Next Career Milestone

Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.