Winning Despite Streaky Offense an Important Skill For OKC Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder's biggest weakness during the playoff run a season ago was struggling to find consistency on offense. Luckily for them, their historic defense and star power were strong enough to bring them past any speed bumps they hit, winning the NBA title regardless.

The center of this inconsistency lies in the realm of three-point shooting, with the Thunder having a high variety in making and missing looks from long range. Despite this, the team has been able to be a consistent powerhouse in the Western Conference and the NBA, winning games based on defense alone, even when the offensive numbers fail to pop out to the eye.

Sometimes, despite an ugly game all around on that end, the team pulls out a win where neither team crosses the century mark in an era that scoreline lies well below league average, or Oklahoma City pulls through from sheer starpower, with MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way.

In the OKC Thunder's 100-87 triumph over the Dallas Mavericks Sunday night, it was a mixture of both. The defense was a gauntlet to score on, albeit a banged-up Mavericks team helps, and the team was powered by strong performances by Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren.

The Thunder shot 20.5% from behind the arc on 39 attempts and shot 66.7% from the free-throw stripe. Oklahoma City scored just 100 points, its third-lowest point total of the season, but were still able to pull through thanks to its dominant defense.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren combined for 49% of the Thunder's scoring output, with Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 30 points and Holmgren scoring 19. The Kentucky guard added five assists as well.

A strong, 36-25, first-quarter for the Thunder put the team in charge for the rest of the game, according to head coach Mark Daigneault.

"I thought we came out and it was a professional effort. We put ourselves in a really good position. Put ourselves in the driver's seat of the game," Daigneault said.

Both players were instrumental on the defensive end as well, with each player having four total stocks in the game. Gilgeous-Alexander had four steals, while Holmgren had two steals and two blocks.

The Canadian guard has now scored 30 points in both of his games since returning from injury, putting himself in a great position as he still works his way past minutes restrictions.

Winning "ugly" games like this one is what can separate the good teams from the greats. Even when OKC's shots fail to fall throughout the game, scoring just 100 points, a top-ranked defense allowed the team to pull through with a victory.