From Alex Caruso making his return to the hardwood to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort playing in front of their home country, Thursday night's bout against the Toronto Raptors had a ton of storylines attached to it. Nevertheless, as they've done all year long, the OKC Thunder still managed to take care of business.
Throughout the contest, it seemed Oklahoma City could do no wrong as they flat-out overpowered the Toronto Raptors on both ends of the floor en route to a lopsided 129-92 victory.
While the mood of the contest was overall positive, from an objective standpoint there were still a few things that could have gone better with their performance.
With this in mind, we present to you the three stud and one lonely dud performers from OKC's blowout win over Toronto.
3 Studs, 1 Dud from Thunder Dominating Win Over Raptors
Stud: Isaiah Joe
After having one of his best outings of the year in Tuesday's victory over the Jazz, Isaiah Joe was given the starting nod against the rebuilding Raptors, and he did not disappoint.
Picking up right where he left off, the wing would finish the game with 16 points and 4 rebounds while shooting 4-for-6 from long range.
After struggling early in the year, it appears Joe has finally found his groove, both on offense and defense.
With more of these nights, the 25-year-old could push for a regular starting role instead of Cason Wallace or Aaron Wiggins.
Dud: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander From Deep
Even though the Thunder superstar had another great performance with 30 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists, it was a night to forget when it comes to his three-point production.
Early on, SGA was trying to get the long ball to fall, but to no avail. This continued for the entire game as he went an abysmal 1-for-10 from beyond the arc.
Granted, he did make up for it in many other ways, particularly defensively and in the mid-range, but if the Thunder want to win more games and finish as the top seed he needs to shoot better and more consistently.
Fortunately, this was the game for him to experiment with his shot, as the Raptors were giving him the green light seemingly right from the get-go.
It's safe to say that this was not the three-point shooting night he was hoping for after revealing his new logo with Converse before the game.
Stud: Ajay Mitchell
Ajay Mitchell continued his case to make an All-Rookie team with this outing, as he had one of the best games of his young career,
After some below average performances the past few games, Mitchell responded with a 13-point showing against Toronto while coming away with 3 steals.
Early on, the rookie has been getting a substantial amount of time with the Thunder, serving as the team's primary backup point guard in a majority of games.
So far, he has lived up to the challenge, and Thursday night was no different.
Stud: Alex Caruso
After missing some time, there were questions over whether the defensive menace could make a seamless return once healthy.
It is safe to say he did just that.
Alex Caruso was an all-around difference-maker on the night, as he finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 stocks while shooting going 2-for-3 from distance.
With the NBA Cup Quarterfinals approaching, the Thunder will need more performances like this from Caruso, along with the entire bench unit, if they want to secure a trip to Las Vegas.