The OKC Thunder and Houston Rockets took part in a tightly contested, back-and-forth affair Wednesday night without superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in tow, as he was held out from the game with a quad injury.
It took a full team effort to make up for this grave absence, and many of Mark Daigneault's players put up career performances and pulled off highlight-reel plays during the overtime bout.
Easily the most awe-inspiring happening on the night was Isaiah Joe's monstrous poster jam over Rockets veteran Jeff Green during the early stages of quarter two.
ISAIAH JOE WHAT IN THE WORLD. pic.twitter.com/tv5rJFZtgL
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) March 28, 2024
A moment that resulted in a deafening roar from the FedEx Forum crowd, instant reactions from fans and media pundits alike were that Joe's absurdly acrobatic and athletic play could find itself in the running for Dunk of the Year honors.
And while people still find themselves discussing the astonishing slam several hours later, considering the outcome of the game, with Houston pulling out the 132-126 win, the 24-year-old noted in his post-game presser that, at the end of the day, the play doesn't matter all that much to him.
Thunder guard Isaiah Joe drops truth bomb on poster jam vs Rockets
"In the moment [it was] very exciting, energy was really high, but [we] move on real quick. We got a game to win so it doesn't hold much weight after taking a loss... We just wanted to win."Isaiah Joe
Despite the L, it must be stated that Joe's efforts were far more than just one particular play, as he went on to wrap up with an impressive stat line of 17 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds while shooting 60.0 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from distance.
Unfortunately, his high-end play didn't end up fueling an ultimately successful charge as it generally has throughout this year's campaign, and, in the end, the Thunder fell to the surging Rockets in what ended up being their 22 defeat.