After their first game was postponed, the OKC Thunder opened their season with a win against the Charlotte Hornets: Here are three takeaways on the night.
After the OKC Thunder‘s first game against the Houston Rockets was postponed, the season opener was moved to a road game against the Charlotte Hornets. Despite the organization reshaping their roster to tank, the Thunder came away with the win.
Mike Muscala showed that his preseason form was not a fluke. The veteran collected 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-4 from deep. Last year’s rookie sensation Luguentz Dort was huge with his defense on Gordon Hayward. He held him to 12 points while collecting 15 points and five rebounds himself.
George Hill continued his tremendous 3-point shooting from last season with a perfect 4-of-4 from behind the line, helping him get to 21 points. Al Horford had a struggle offensively, only collecting three points. However, as all good veterans do, Horford impacted the game with his 13 rebounds.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the star for the OKC Thunder.
It could be easy to just look at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s game-winning shot and be content with his game. However, SGA was simply incredible when he was on the court. He almost collected a triple-double in his first game as the main star of the Thunder franchise.
Game on the line. #ThunderUp | @shaiglalex pic.twitter.com/v8gtOghMeJ
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 27, 2020
He had a game-high 24 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds to go along with one block. His shot was not really there, going 8-of-20 from the floor and 1-of-6 from deep. He connected on 7-of-10 from the line, which shows that he was the focus of the Hornets defense. Now, lets dive into the three takeaways from the opening Thunder victory.