The Oklahoma City Thunder traveled to Chicago to face the Bulls on the first night of a back-to-back, and they would have to do so without their two best players – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams.
The defending NBA champs were heavy favorites ahead of the game, especially facing a Bulls team that went 0-11 during the entire month of February. OKC lived up to expectations and came out strong, leading Chicago 87-76 after three quarters of play.
Depth
The Thunder's depth was the most impressive aspect of this game, with six different players in double digits in scoring and nine different players logging over 15 minutes on the floor.
Recently acquired at the trade deadline, Jared McCain led the Thunder scorers with 20 points, and leaving Philadelphia seems to have been the best thing that could have happened to his career. Isaiah Joe contributed 19 points, while Aaron Wiggins added 18. Jaylin Williams and Cason Wallace scored 17 points each off the bench, and Chet Holmgren had a big double-double night with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Bulls stayed in the game until the third quarter, when the defending champions went on a 12–3 run to widen the gap and secure the win. Not everything was negative for the Bulls, who had six players finish the night in double figures, led by 20 points off the bench from Collin Sexton, while Frenchman Guerschon Yabusele finished with a stat line of 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault explained postgame that, despite struggling to shoot the basketball, finding ways to win games is important.
“Two straight games we’ve shot below 25% from three, which is part of the deal in an 82-game season, but it’s great to control the game despite that. It was a very professional effort to build a 19-point lead in the second half, and credit to them… I thought the guys did a great job.”