Three Takeaways From OKC Thunder's First Win Following All-Star Break

The Oklahoma City Thunder looked as dominant as ever against a reeling Utah Jazz team.

Feb 21, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) goes to the basket against Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) during the second quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The All-Star break has come and gone, but the Oklahoma City Thunder hasn't skipped a beat.

In its first game back in action, the Thunder tousled the Utah Jazz on the road in a 130-107 win Friday night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams shined fresh off All-Star selections and fun in San Francisco, but plenty of other areas shined for it thoughout the blowout.

Oklahoma City was hot from behind the arc, while creating increased opportunities through defense to give it the edge. It was the pair's third matchup of the season, but ended in the same result as the others.

With the convincing victory, the Thunder now hold a 45-10 record that keeps its reign at the top of the Western Conference strong.

Here are three takeaways from last night's 23-point win:

The Big Man Combo

Though it wasn't quite a smooth start to the pairing of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein in the starting lineup before the break, both big men found plenty of success against Utah.

Holmgren is continuing to adjust back to the lineup since his return from injury, but had his strongest outing yet on Friday. The 22-year-old finished the game with 16 points, six rebounds and three blocks on 6-of-13 shooting from the field — looking much more confident in his offensive bag.

While Hartenstein didn't put up a staggering amount of points, his presence was felt on the glass. He dropped eight points, 13 rebounds, four assists and a block on 4-of-10 shooting.

The double-big lineup had hurt Oklahoma City's offensive capabilities previously, but this time, it was far more of a cleaner look. The spacing wasn't nearly as affected, and the defense was obviously strong given the strengths of both individuals.

Now that Holmgren seems to be getting closer to his old self, the duo all of the sudden looks scarier. The Thunder has already had high amounts of success as-is, but he can take them even higher.

Winning On 3-Pointers

Oklahoma City found varying amounts to score on the Jazz defense, but the 3-point shot was fully a driving force throughout the night.

By the end of the game, the Thunder accumulated a 19-of-43 clip on 3-pointers — good for 44% shooting. While Utah didn't shoot much worse with 15-of-41, the 12 point advantage was one of the many areas that helped the road team come away with the win.

Williams led the way on the 3-point barrage, finishing the game with 4-of-7 shooting. Isaiah Joe knocked down 3-of-6 off the bench, while Kenrich Williams, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins each provided two of their own.

All of this success was done with a relatively weak performance from the starting lineup. Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren each went 1-of-4, while Luguentz Dort went scoreless from behind the arc with 0-of-4 shooting.

Still, many of the players on the bench unit helped 3-pointers be a strength for Oklahoma City, which played a role in the extent of the final score.

Forcing Turnovers

It doesn't take a genius to recognize the dominance of the Thunder defense. It's been putting up historic numbers all season, and has several contenders for All-Defensive teams.

The Jazz turned the ball over a whopping 21 times during the game, plenty being at the cause of Oklahoma City's defense. It finished with 10 steals and gained 37 points off Utah's high amounts of turnovers.

Defense has been one of the Thunder's biggest strengths, so it's not a surprise that it was a significant part of the win. Utah was able to make shots, but Oklahoma City gaining extra possessions and looks made it quite the easy win by the end of the game.

The switchability of Oklahoma City's lineup can't go unnoticed. It doesn't matter if it's the guards, forwards or centers, nearly every player on the roster has a defensive component to their game. Especially when it's a struggling Jazz team, that is going to play a major factor.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Thunder on SI 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.