OKC Thunder Hold on For Win Against Brooklyn in Vegas Summer League Debut

The Oklahoma City Thunder kicked off their Las Vegas Summer League stint against the rookie-loaded Brooklyn Nets, securing a 90-81 victory.

Despite the closer nature of the final score, Oklahoma City never trailed in this game. From start to finish, the Thunder controlled both sides of the ball, especially on defense.

Former Alabama wing Chris Youngblood was slotted into the starting lineup for the first time in the Summer League, taking advantage of that nice new opportunity. He finished with 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting, knocking down three triples.

Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell was yet again the star of the show for the Thunder, finishing with 20 points on 6-for-13 shooting. He added two assists and five rebounds to that as well.

The defensive side of the ball was a positive for this rag-tag Thunder group, forcing 20 Brooklyn turnovers while committing 18 of their own. Forcing turnovers is a signature of many Thunder teams and that was the case for this squad, as well.

OKC's assist total also surmounted the Nets', which was another reason they held onto their lead for so long. The Thunder finished with 20 and Brooklyn 14, with OKC led by point guard Nikola Topic. He recorded six, looking much more comfortable as a playmaker in this matchup.

The game was neck and neck throughout its continuation, but Youngblood began to pour it on in the second half. As the third quarter wound down, he scored eight points in only a brief period of time, helping OKC gain an 11-point lead.

That run from Youngblood, and the increasingly dominant performance of the Thunder defense, helped them earn a nine-point lead by the end of the half, which was slimmed down by Nets point guard and rookie Nolan Traore.

Outside of Traore, Brooklyn's posse of first-round picks struggled. Forward Danny Wolf and guards Egor Demin and Ben Saraf were fairly inefficient, struggling to score and contribute at a high level. It's still early for them, but it certainly wasn't a good start.

OKC's lone Summer League drafted rookie, forward Brooks Barnhizer, also struggled on offense. He finished with six points on 2-for-11 shooting, but was still impactful on defense and, in typical fashion, as a rebounder. He recorded seven by the game's end.

The fourth quarter started very slowly, but the Thunder still held onto a sizeable nine-point lead. A rolling dunk from forward Malevy Leons and four second-chance points from forward Hason Ward increased the lead to 13 points, getting the ball rolling in the final period of the game.

Forward Drew Timme and Traore launched a run to close that gap, getting it down to six points after a Timme driving layup.

Topic started to take over late in the fourth as it progressed, scoring eight straight to maintain OKC's lead. Two of those were from the outside, showing a completeness to his game. He finished with 18 points on 7-for-18 shooting.

Despite the late and somewhat heroic efforts from Timme, who finished with 20 points, OKC held on for an eventual victory. He did make things interesting and gave OKC a run for their money single-handedly.

OKC now is 1-0 in the most important part of the Summer League, with more games on the way.

OKC's next clash in the offseason in Las Vegas is against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, July 12 at 4:30 p.m. CT.