The Oklahoma City Thunder keep on rolling. Despite being on the second night of a back-to-back against quality opposition in Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers, the Thunder remained dominant, leaving nothing to chance as they obliterated the Lakers, 121-92, in a game that was even more lopsided than the already-lopsided score line would suggest.
The catalyst in OKC's victory, as per usual, was reigning regular season MVP and NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He wasted no time putting the Lakers defense on the blender, and he ended up with his customary 30 points to go along with five rebounds, nine assists, and two steals.
In racking up 30 points on the night yet again, Gilgeous-Alexander has now tied Russell Westbrook for having the second most 30-point games in Thunder history, as per Brandon Rahbar of Daily Thunder. It is quite fitting that SGA tied Westbrook's record on the exact date of the 2017 NBA MVP's birthday, as the current Thunder star is carving quite a legacy for himself with the team that has arguably now surpassed that of Westbrook's.
Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 30 or more points in 11 of the Thunder's first 13 games on the season, and him being this reliable on the offensive end is freeing up the rest of the roster to fill their roles to a T.
It is quite remarkable that the Thunder have been this dominant already to start the new campaign even though Jalen Williams has not suited up this season yet and Lu Dort has been dealing with an injury as well.
The Thunder cannot be stopped
This Thunder team is about to waltz towards another title if this keeps up. They have been so dominant on the defensive end that they simply need Gilgeous-Alexander to be his typical self for them to rack up wins.
They now have a 12-1 record after their demolition of the Lakers, and the next few games should be very winnable for OKC (their next four games will be against the Charlotte Hornets, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, and Utah Jazz — teams that have combined for just one more win than OKC has).
