The OKC Thunder continue to expand upon their historic start to an NBA season, as Monday night's triumph over the Orlando Magic pushed the franchise's record for most consecutive wins to kick off a campaign at seven in a row.
Leading the charge for Oklahoma City were the usual suspects of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren, who, together, accumulated 58 of the team's 102 points while combining for 19 boards, 11 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks while shooting a highly efficient 53.4 percent from the field.
Of course, as has proven to be the case throughout this mesmerizing run during these infancy stages of 2024-25, many of their supporting cast members proved vital in them pulling out win number seven, especially Isaiah Joe who played a key role in capping off what became a run-away third quarter in the contest.
Mere minutes after checking into the game at the 4:14 mark in the second to last period, the fifth-year wing was seemingly playing like a man possessed, singlehandedly spearheading the way toward a 9-1 run by the Thunder to push their lead to a whopping 24 points with under a minute to go till the fourth quarter came underway.
By the time the buzzer sounded, OKC had a commanding 84-58 edge over Orlando and glided into the final 12 minutes of regulation with momentum well on their side.
Without question, Joe's second-half stretch played a major role in the ball club making the game out of reach for the visiting Magic. Despite the attention that may naturally gravitate toward him individually, however, during his post-game press conference he made sure to shout out his teammates for their direct impact on his performance, specifically name-dropping summer addition, Alex Caruso.
Isaiah Joe hypes Thunder teammates after standout outing vs. Magic
"It just attests to the team finding me. I think Alex Caruso assisted on all three of those , so guys that are willing to make the extra pass, play the right way... I think that just happened in that stretch. It could be me but it could easily be anybody else on the team," Joe said of his third-quarter excellence.
Three threes in a row from Isaiah Joe 🔥
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 5, 2024
And three assists in a row from Caruso 🤝 pic.twitter.com/WvOUcb2uVa
While Isaiah Joe may have had his name mentioned quite frequently during the latter stages of the third, throughout Monday's game the 25-year-old served as a crucial, two-way contributor, finishing with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and an assist on 50.0 percent shooting both from the floor and from deep while recording the third-best plus-minus rating of +16 in his 22 minutes played.
This showing is simply yet another example of why the wing was well worth the four-year, $48 million deal he signed this offseason, as he came into the night boasting solid averages of 8.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and just shy of a steal on 41.2 percent shooting from deep whilst ranking third on the team in offensive rating out of those who have seen over 100 minutes of action.
As Joe alluded to during his presser, anyone on this Thunder team has the ability to show out on any given night, and we've already seen a few who have caught the attention of fans, pundits, and coaching staff alike.
It just so happens that, against Orlando, it was his turn to standout.