Fantastic Finish: Thunder outlasted the Rockets in 2OT on ring night.
CITY OF OKLAHOMA — The Thunder needed a Game 7 to prove they were the better team last season, then two overtimes to open this season and show that… not much has changed?
Maybe. They will need several more months of collecting receipts to guarantee this status. Until then, this will be enough, a satisfying, if not convincing, one-point win against a Rockets team that can be considered a threat in the Western Conference — and a Kia MVP-type finishing touch by, who else, the reigning MVP.
At the very least, the 2025-26 NBA season started with an entertaining game that kept the suspense going until the last second of that second overtime. And the two most visible players, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Kevin Durant, were both involved in the second overtime play that ultimately decided the outcome in the final seconds.
Outside of the game, raising the 2024-25 championship banner was a historic moment for an Oklahoma City franchise that lost the 2012 Finals, then blew a 3-1 lead in the conference finals in 2016, and might have had two more chances at a title in the last decade if not for untimely injuries to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
“Seeing the banner up there was cool, knowing it would be there forever” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “Special evening.”
Here are four takeaways from the night in the ring – when the Thunder returned one last time in the summer of 2025 before looking ahead:
1. Shai showed up when it counted
For a little more than three quarters on Tuesday, his impact was slight and he disappeared at times. When he returned to the game for good with 7 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Shai had just 11 points and two free throw attempts — not typical for a player who averaged 32.7 points last season and made regular trips to the line.
But what followed was typical: Shai emerged at the moment of truth. He scored 24 points from that point on, finished with 35, and carried OKC with Chet Holmgren on the bench after fouling out and Jalen Williams on the bench in street clothes.
“I knew I had to be more aggressive,” he said.
The final touch was a chef’s kiss, as not only did he make the game-winning free throws with two seconds remaining, but he did so with a delicate dribble that left Durant shaken and prompted a foul from KD. It was a double whammy provided by Shai: winning the game and taking KD away from the Rockets’ final possession of the game when Houston needed a bucket.
2. He’s still Kevin Boo-rant here
He was the last of the Rockets to leave the locker room and appear on the court for pregame warmups. You could feel it because suddenly the Paycom Center crowd – on an otherwise festive evening – sprung into action.
That’s what happened to Durant that night – like every other night since he left OKC and reappeared in another team’s uniform. Basically, raising a banner did not make them forget or forgive. They’re still salty because of Durant, after all these years.
For comparison: Steven Adams, Durant’s teammate in Houston and cult figure from his time in OKC, received a standing ovation, as did Serge Ibaka, in town for the match. Even more: NBC team member Carmelo Anthony was warmly applauded – and he only played one season in OKC.
Kevin Durant throws it up for his first bucket with the Rockets.
Fortunately, as is usual, the visiting team remains in the locker room during the ring ceremony; Durant didn’t have to watch and soak it all in (although Adams and Jeff Green, both ex-Thunder, did).
“It’s part of the OKC brand to boo me when my name is introduced” » said Durant, who took it calmly. “But after that, it’s just love.”
Regardless, rough verbal treatment aside, Durant’s debut with Houston was uneven at best and ultimately deflating after a grueling 47 minutes:
- He called a timeout the Rockets didn’t have with 1.3 seconds left in the first overtime. Alperen Sengun called it too late, and the Thunder players and bench were furious when the officiating crew missed it (“I said what needed to be said,” OKC coach Mark Daigneault said). Without the technical free throw for OKC, the game remained tied and continued to another overtime.
- He missed the first of two free throws in the final seconds of regulation, allowing Shai to force overtime with a mid-range jumper.
- He fouled Shai with two seconds left in the second overtime and fouled out.
- He couldn’t break free from Lu Dort, who gave up five inches to KD but whose intelligence and tenacity made up for it. Durant only had two baskets after the third quarter.
That last nugget was telling, as the Rockets traded for Durant last summer for those exact moments — only to bail out Houston by getting late-game buckets. It was an ingredient the Rockets sorely lacked last season, one that was exposed in the playoffs when Jalen Green — redirected to Phoenix in the KD trade — missed his shot and caught fire in the fourth quarter.
As for the missed free throw and the foul on Shai, KD accepted the fault: “Those two plays are why we lost. I have to do better…those opportunities to make a save to seal the game, they don’t come around often.”
Regardless, the Rockets were also vulnerable in the final moments as Amen Thompson suffered a muscle strain in the first overtime and finished. Sengun tried to carry the club and almost succeeded; his second highest scoring game ever (39 points) posed problems even for OKC’s stout defense.
Which leads to…
3. The Rockets’ Tall Ball Could Be Important
Houston started four 6-foot-11 players and one 6-foot-7 player, and used that lineup for much of the contest. This was due to necessity; With Fred VanVleet done for the season, the Rockets are light on point guard but heavy on size.
Durant, Sengun, Steven Adams and Jabari Smith Jr., all 6-foot-11, joined Thompson to form one of the tallest lineups in NBA history. The goal: create size differences, dominate the rim and paint on both ends, and rely on Thompson’s improving ball-handling skills to minimize VanVleet’s loss.
The verdict? Well, one game is not the right sample size. Houston could use this to their advantage over most teams. But against the Thunder, blessed with speedy, full-size guards who are excellent defenders, Houston didn’t have a massive advantage.
Alperen Sengun scores a record 39 points in the season opener against the Thunder.
The Rockets had 21 turnovers, four each by Sengun, Thompson and Durant, who handled most of the point guard duties. When the Rockets used second-year guard Reed Sheppard to help them play, Oklahoma City immediately hounded him on defense.
4. OKC still down on Dub
Jalen Williams did not have finger surgery this offseason because it would have been problematic if he slipped on the championship ring.
Still: He’s still recovering from July 1 surgery to repair torn ligaments in his wrist — he played much of the playoffs with that injury — and his timetable for return is uncertain. Until he does, OKC will be incomplete. Williams hasn’t played since Game 7 of the NBA Finals, 121 days ago — 127 days removed from his epic 40-point takedown against the Pacers in Game 5.
The Thunder’s depth must compensate primarily with goals, and Tuesday provided some encouragement. Ajay Mitchell was great off the bench (16 points on 50% shooting), Cason Wallace scored a crucial 3 points in the second overtime and Aaron Wiggins provided 10 points.
That’s what sets OKC apart even from competitors, the ability to elevate actor minutes and get production out of that.
“We just hung in there and worked,” Daigneault said. “Then the situations that you have to be able to handle in the right way, we’ve done a really good job because it’s the start of the season.”
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Shaun Powell has been covering the NBA since 1985. You can email him here, find his archives here and follow him on.
