OKC Thunder Finding Ways to Win With Different Styles

The Thunder have been elite on both ends and are finding different paths to victories because of it.

The Oklahoma City Thunder continue finding ways to win regardless of how the games play out.

Of course, the games have to play out well on the scoreboard for the Thunder to win. However, the score they need to reach can vary significantly from game to game.

Oklahoma City’s past two contests are perfect examples of that. While both games were tight road wins against division rivals, the styles played in the matchups were nothing alike.

In Thursday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz, the Thunder shot 60% and scored 76 points in the first half. Meanwhile, they had just 74 points through three quarters against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.

While it was a game that could be called an ugly win, the Thunder had a similar test a weekend ago when the Orlando Magic visited Paycom Center. Although they still managed to put up 112 points, the Magic’s defense found ways to disrupt most of the Thunder’s lineup.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was still finding his spots in that game and carrying the Thunder offense, particularly at the beginning. At 31.1 points per game, the Thunder’s star guard has been the key to getting over the hump in those slugfests.

But the Thunder returned the favor and allowed the Magic to score only 100 points as both teams shot worse than 25% from 3-point range. On Saturday against the Timberwolves, they allowed 97 points, the fewest they’ve allowed in a competitive game this season.

Yet against Utah, Oklahoma City gave up 129 points, the most in a regulation win this season. But shooting 55.8% from the floor and 43.8% from deep gave Oklahoma City the offensive punch it needed to get out with a win.

While most games will fall somewhere in between the Thunder’s past two matchups, being able to win in either extreme is a sign of a well-rounded team. This season, the Thunder have proven that by ranking fourth in offensive rating and sixth in defensive rating.

The Thunder have made their mark this season by being elite on both ends. But the ability to comfortably fall back on one strength if the other struggles helped them end this road trip on a high note.

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