It felt like fatigue started to set in for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Playing on the second night of a road back-to-back and the third game in four nights, the Thunder — who are usually money in the third quarter — struggled coming out of halftime.
The Thunder ultimately pulled away and won their game against the Bulls, 124-110.
But that didn’t happen without some adversity.
The Chicago Bulls closed out the third quarter on a 28-11 run in the final 10 minutes. After the Thunder went up 80-62 in the opening two second-half minutes, they ran out of juice. The extended Bulls run turned it into a one-point game by the start of the fourth quarter.
It felt like this game was going to come down to the final possessions and likely conclude with a duel between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Zach LaVine.
Instead, by the time Gilgeous-Alexander checked into the fourth quarter at the 4:39 mark, OKC’s lead grew from one point to 10 points.
The non-SGA lineup, led by Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams, outscored the Bulls 17-8 in the first seven minutes of the quarter.
This seven-minute stretch highlighted the type of young depth the Thunder roster. They are no longer a franchise who solely relies on elite talent to bail them out like previous iterations.
What a luxury to have.
The Thunder not only held their own, but actually grew their lead with their All-Star on the bench and afforded him an extended period of rest.
The Thunder continue to be maestros with the basketball, scoring 124 points in regulation on 47-of-92 (51.1%) from the field. This included going 11-of-33 (33.3%) from 3. From the free-throw line, the Thunder shot an impressive 19-of-22 (86.4%).
In their last seven games, the Thunder are averaging 125.7 points on 50.1% shooting and 26.9 assists. From outside, the Thunder are shooting 40.3 percent from 3 on 34.7% shooting.
Since the 150 point explosion against the Boston Celtics, the Thunder are suddenly an offensive juggernaut.
The small Thunder dominated the Bulls inside, outscoring 64-44 in the paint.
All 10 players who checked in for the Thunder scored at least three points. Nobody took more than 18 shots. It was a well-balanced offensive attack that displayed OKC’s depth and synergy.
For the Bulls, Zach LaVine struggled to make an impact. While LaVine scored 25 points, he also went an inefficient 5-of-19 from the field. LaVine did most of his scoring at the free-throw line, going 14-of-15 with 11 of those attempts occurring in the fourth…
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