At 28-5, the OKC Thunder sit comfortably atop the Western Conference and boast the best record in the entire league.
Many have said their record has been boosted by an easy schedule, and a recent flurry of losses against some top-notch teams hasn't helped shed that narrative.
Over these past several days, however, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company have looked unnerved as they resorted to doing the one thing that has propelled them to elite status -- they won the third quarter.
In both games after their Christmas Day loss to the feisty Spurs, they started slow. The defense looked on its heels, and buckets weren't easy to come by.
On Sunday, they went into halftime up by only two points against the Sixers, and on Monday, they went into halftime down five against the Hawks.
In the third quarters of these games, however, they proceeded to outscore the opposition by a combined 81-53 margin. They ended up rolling over Philadelphia by 25 and won comfortably against Atlanta by 11.
This is not a new trend, as Oklahoma City is undefeated this season when they've won the third period.
In their 28 wins this year, they have won the third in 23 of them.
Third-quarter success has had a direct result in Thunder wins
Being a good team and playing winning basketball right out of the half go hand in hand.
The best teams are not always perfect, but they make their fair share of mistakes and lose their fair share of games.
With that said, elite squads are always able to make adjustments more quickly and efficiently than the rest.
Halftime adjustments are often an accurate indicator of a coaching staff's effectiveness.
Coaches not only need to solve problems effectively but also articulate their presumed solutions on the fly in a way that can be understood and implemented by their players.
This has always seemed to be one of Daigneault's strengths.
Answer to Thunder struggles centered on how they come out of halftime
In many interviews, he has preached the importance of laying out details in a way that his players can fully absorb, and, given his outstanding resume as the OKC skipper, it's safe to say his players have listened.
The Thunder coming out of the break hot has become an essential piece to their winning formula, and it has arguably been even more evident in their losses.
In all of their five losses, OKC has lost the third quarter in all of them, and the problems appear to be on the offensive side of the ball.
In these games, they have averaged just 24.8 points in the third period and have struggled to move the ball effectively and get good shots off.
This pattern against better teams will have to change soon if they wish to regain their status as top league juggernauts, as the Thunder will be seeing some of the NBA's best in January, including the Spurs, Suns, Wolves, Raptors, and Rockets.
It will be interesting to see if OKC recommits to their effective halftime adjustments in the coming weeks. If not, Sam Presti may feel that changes might need to be made ahead of February's trade deadline.