The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Houston Rockets in an instant classic to open the 2025-26 NBA season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were tested all night by the Houston Rockets, led by Alperen Sengun’s 39-point performance.
Sengun was dominant, hitting 12-of-24 from the field, grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out seven assists.
They had a chance to win near the end of regulation, but they missed it and the game went into overtime.
One overtime wasn’t enough and the game went into a second overtime, but the Thunder were able to hold on with two made free throws from Shai Gilgeous and Alexander.
The Thunder and Rockets have already shown they are elite in the highly competitive Western Conference.
One fan claimed, “A classic double-over-over opener between the Thunder and Rockets, the best start in NBA history on NBC.”
“Every other NBA game this season is legally required to be as good as this Thunder vs. Rockets game. That’s the rule,” said another fan.
Another fan praised the game, saying, “The Rockets-Thunder game was crazy! I’m glad the NBA is back on NBC!”
“No wonder the first NBA game on NBC in 23 years is definitely happening. Rockets vs. Thunder was electric!” wrote another fan.
Thunder vs. Rockets was an interesting marathon, with one fan posting, “Thunder vs. Rockets was 3 hours and 15 minutes. That’s 25 minutes longer than any regular season or playoff game last year. How about an appetizer?”
All eyes were on Kevin Durant, who not only returned to Oklahoma City but also made his Rockets debut.
Durant had a solid performance, posting 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, nine rebounds, and three assists in 47 minutes.
Durant nearly made a huge mistake when it appeared to call a timeout at the end of the first overtime. Houston was out of timeout, but the referee did not call a technical foul.
Despite this, the Thunder would have to wait for a win before Durant could get his first win as a member of the Rockets.