Stiles Points: OKC Thunder Showed Championship Guts Vs. Heat

The Oklahoma City Thunder refused to just roll over and die against the Miami Heat and its blood and guts organization, flashing its championship prowess with a 24-0 fourth quarter run.

Feb 12, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) celebrate after a play against the Miami Heat during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Lethargic, Laissez-Faire and Lacking Intensity were the right way to describe the Thunder and its defense for the first 12 minutes and change of this game. Those haven't been adjectived used often in Bricktown this season as Oklahoma City boasts a historic defense and team. But for the first time all season, they looked normal rather than superhuman.

The Thunder looked like a team that had its eye set of a week-long vacation rather than the challenge at hand, one they knew coming in - regardless of who played - would be a war.

“[The Heat are a] blood and guts of an organization as anybody. They’ve set the competitive standard in the league for decades now. They’re a pleasure to compete against. They bring the best out of their opponents," Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said pregame about the challenge of facing Miami.

As Miami battles through a season of mediocrity, it still has those same "Heat Culture" principals and a Hall of Fame coach pacing the sidelines. From the opening tip of this game, the Heat took the fight to the Thunder, landing the first...and second...and third punch of the game.

Oklahoma City got down by as many as 21 points before making a run to cut it to 11 before intermission. Every indicator - on both ends - suggested this would be the first time all year the Thunder have acted as a typical team. Just packing it in, rolling over, and waiting to fight another day.

Though, out of halftime, the Thunder turned up the intensity and battle its way back. After hanging around in this game, Oklahoma City ripped off a 24-0 run to start the final frame to reclaim the lead and force Miami into multiple timeouts to attempt to stop the bleeding.

By that time, the game was over. In a blink, Oklahoma City had flexed its muscles and displayed historic defensive output yet ago to finish the fourth period with a jaw-dropping 32-8 advantage en route to a 115-101 win.

"Once we locked in on the defensive side, got some stops in, you see what we can do, and it's really good to get the crowd into it like that. We want to play like that the whole game," veteran forward Kenrich Williams said after the game.

The TCU product was the catalyst for the Thunder's win posting 14 points and four rebounds off the pine for Oklahoma City and being the first - alongside defensive ace Lu Dort - to display energy and intensity that became infectious for the Bricktown Ballers and the Paycom Center faithful.

"[Kenrich Williams] was the first one that really tried to bring an edge to the game and get us turned around," Daigneault said. "He was, I thought, the first guy to be stubborn about it and really try to bring some juice to the game."

While Oklahoma City only scored 23 points in the opening frame before turning in 29, 31 and 32 points in the following three quarters, the Thunder bench boss found it offensive to talk about the offense turning around the game "This was a defensive game," Daigneault quipped back quickly putting the attention back onto that end of the floor when asked about the scoring output after the game.

He was right. That suffocating defense allowed just 38 second-half points after allowing 63 in the first two quarters. In the second half, Miami was forced into 10 turnovers compared to the six it had before intermission. Miami was a plus-seven on the glass before the break and in the second half lost the rebounding battle by three.

Miami labored on the offensive end in the last two quarters, turning in poor shooting splits of 31/36/75 while looking flustered and frustrated for 24 minutes.

The Heat's go-to scorer in this game, Tyler Herro, labored his way to five second-half points, just one field goal made in that span including an 0-for-2 final frame in nine minutes of action - this was a massive feather in the cap of Dort.

"It's just amazing how hard [Lu Dort] makes you work That's really the secret sauce... The physical energy and focus that they have to exert when they play against him is what's always impressed me," Daigneault said of his defensive stalwart.

As the Thunder earned another double-digit win to improve his gaudy record to 44-9, Oklahoma City once again found a way to win. The reason the Thunder are viewed as title contenders is in part due to any given night all 15 guys have a chance to heavily impact a game and beat the opponent. Tonight, Lu Dort and Kenrich Williams join Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with the lion's share of the credit.

Oklahoma City displayed championship-level fight, title-worthy togetherness and a feeling of inevitability that eventually a run would come like an avalanche of hustle, stops and buckets.

In a game, the Thunder could have easily - and understandably - packed it in, Oklahoma City showed the blood and guts it takes to win a title.

Stiles Points

• Explaining what roles the OKC Thunder coaching staff has at NBA All-Star Weekend.
• Mark Daigneault gives his thoughts on Chet Holmgren's first two games back to the lineup.
• The Oklahoma City Thunder are catching fire from beyond the arc heading into the All-Star game, how that can be an X Factor in the playoffs?
• OKC is viewed as a top contender in the NBA.

Song of the Day: Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd

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