3 Takeaways From Thunder's Performance-Guiding Win Over Rockets

To make it four-straight wins, the Oklahoma City Thunder knocked off the Houston Rockets in another high-scoring affair, this time in a 137-128 win.

The Thunder has been on a roll offensively, and that didn't stop here. It was Jalen Williams' turn in a 41-point peformance against the San Antoinio Spurs, but last night, it was all about MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The victory marked the 50th of the regular season for Oklahoma City — a truly staggering number at this point in the year. With that, the gap in the Western Conference standings only grew larger.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

SGA Has Himself a Night

Gilgeous-Alexander going for high scoring numbers is not a surprise in the slightest, but that fact doesn't make when he does any less impressive.

The guard went off against the Rockets, scoring 51 points on 18-of-30 shooting from the field, along with five rebounds and seven assists. It was clear by a significant margin who the best player on the court was, and he took full advantage of that.

It was only a 10-of-10 count from the charity stripe for Gilgeous-Alexander — a relatively small number compared to what most 50+ point performances consist of. Though the conversation seeems to be that he relies on free throws too often, last night went far against that notion.

Gilgeous-Alexander leads the NBA by over 300 points, as well as the most 50-point games this season with a total of four. In terms of pure scoring, it's hard to put any above the Thunder's leading man this season — making his MVP case all the more legitimate.

The Big Man's Alright

In the 100th game of his NBA career, Chet Holmgren continued to battle back from injury with a solid individual peformance of his own to help Oklahoma City grab another win.

The 22-year-old recorded 11 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and three blocks on 4-of-11 shooting. Though it wasn't a particulary strong offensive outing — going 0-of-3 from 3-point range — his defensive prowess was unquestionably elite.

There's a reason why Holmgren would've been a top pick for the Defensive Player of the Year award if he had been healthy all year long. Not only is the Thunder defense the best in the league by a good amount, but he's the clear anchor down low. Combining pure shot blocking and the ability to guard out on the peremiter if needed makes for a player uncomparable to most others.

It might be too early to say Holmgren is fully adjusted to his old self as of now, but he's well on his way. Oklahoma City was dangerous enough without him, but adding him back has given it an extra push to finish off the rest of the regular season.

J-Dub is on a Roll

Out of the big three that the Thunder has put together, it seems that Jalen Williams is usually first to be criticized out of the group. As of late, however, he's been tearing opposing defenses up.

Following his career-high performance against San Antonio, Williams posted 24 points, four rebounds and three assists on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 from deep. While it wasn't quite 41 points, it was a performance that also pushed Oklahoma City past Houston.

Williams is one of the Thunder's most consistent players, continuously bringing something to the table. Lately its been efficient scoring, but even if his shot isn't falling, he can back himself up on the defensive end. After all, there's a reason why he's in All-Defensive team conversations.

If Williams can continue this trajectory going into the playoffs, Oklahoma City will be set up for even better success. Even with a potentially injured wrist, he kept fighting and made a strong impact on the final result of the game.

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