Box score | Play for play
Nuggets and notes
- The Oklahoma City Thunder ended 2025 on a high note, with a complete and utter dismantling of the Portland Trail Blazers. No stress, no hassle, just a businesslike demolition of an overmatched opponent.
- Chet Holmgren organized a block party for New Year’s Eve. The box score said he had six strokes, but it felt like he had ten or more strokes. Portland could do next to nothing inside when he was on the field. So even though his score was on the low side (12 points), his impact on this match was huge.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did it again: 30 points on 11-for-15 shooting, 7-for-7 from the line, 0 turnovers.
- That’s right, ZERO TURNOVER. There is no other player in this league that protects the ball as well as SGA with a usage rate as high as the MVP. Literally: no one. By comparison, SGA has 63 turnovers this entire season, while Luka Doncic has 107.
- Even though Christmas is already over, the Thunder still acted like the Grinch and stole some. The Thunder had 15 steals last night, tied for third most OKC has had in a game this year. That’s Thunder basketball.
- Jalen Williams had 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. With its increased distribution this season, are we finally going to get a JDub triple double this season? I’m guessing yes.
- Lu Dort and Isaiah Joe share the same level of confidence and willingness to shoot the three ball. Both took 10 threes, both without hesitation to launch. And most importantly, both were very successful. Dort was 4-of-10 and Joe was 5-of-10.
- Now about Dort’s three-point shooting: I’ve seen the comments and moans, but I’m going to defend Lu here. Dort is a 36% three-point shooter and actually shot over 41% on 5.8 attempts per game last season. For some reason, teams don’t respect him and leave him wide open with high frequency. If teams are going to defend you like that, you MUST shoot. You kill the offense if you refuse to shoot. Lu Dort is doing exactly what he should be doing.
- More about Dort from three: Is SGA hesitant to pass to Dort on the wing or in the corner? No. Tells you everything you need to know.
- Ajay Mitchell has done what no other player has done this season: score 17+ points on 4 or fewer attempts. Even Shai envies that kind of efficiency.
- In fact, Mitchell is the first player in almost a decade to score 17+ on four or fewer attempts. What a state!
- OKC had 7 players in double figures, including 12 from Branden Carlson. Props to Mr. Carlson.
- Free throw dealer Deni Avidja had just seven attempts. Interesting.
One important takeaway
As we close the books on 2025 (the best season a Thunder fan could ever experience if you ask the Daily Thunder Podcast), it felt good to see the Thunder Thunder play basketball. Last night’s game was a perfect representation of what makes this team so special, so good and so hard to beat.
On to 2026. May 2026 be as epic as 2025 for a Thunder fan.
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