Thunder Begin Title Defense with Thrilling Overtime Victory
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came to the Thunder in 2019.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered the winning points late in a second overtime period as the Oklahoma City Thunder opened their championship campaign with a narrow win over the Houston Rockets.
Last season's MVP scored a team-high 35 points, featuring two clutch free throws with just 2.3 seconds left in the second overtime, securing the champions a positive start.
Houston's Alperun Sengun led all scorers with 39 points and also connected on a personal-best five three-pointers.
But the Thunder's rookie, who added 28 points of his own, played a major role together with the game's hero.
"Grit and defense," Gilgeous-Alexander said of their showing. "We know that when we do it on defence we give ourselves a chance no matter what's going on—makes, misses, good luck or bad luck. We did sufficient defensive work to get the win. We're pretty rusty, but it's a positive beginning."
Before the tip-off, the team's title banner was unveiled at their arena, while the players were awarded their championship rings.
The Thunder beat the Pacers in the previous season's best-of-seven NBA Finals. It was their maiden championship since the team relocated in 2008 to Oklahoma City from Seattle, who had won the 1979 title.
The Pacers will have the chance to get some early revenge on Friday when they face Oklahoma, while the Rockets return to action on the same day at the Pistons.
Elsewhere, a massive performance of 43 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists from the Slovenian star was insufficient to prevent his current team the Los Angeles Lakers from falling to a 119-109 loss against the Golden State Warriors.
Jimmy Butler picked up 31 points and Golden State's sharpshooter chipped in 23 for the road team.
The Lakers were without the league's top scorer James as he is recovering from sciatica.
