Player grades: SGA's 46 points drag Thunder to 129-125 OT win over Jazz

4 days ago 2

OKLAHOMA CITY — Receiving the ball on the inbounds, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander only had three seconds to work. That's all he needed. He blew by Keyonte George pretty easily to get to the mid-range. Pulling up with urgency, he double-clutched the ball before he swished in the jumper to force overtime.

The Oklahoma City Thunder survived disaster with a 129-125 overtime win over the Utah Jazz. Once up by 20 points, it took the reigning MVP dragging his squad to the finish line to get the much-needed victory.

Early on, it felt like the Thunder had their mojo back. Kenrich Williams brought some bully-ball style as he ripped the ball away from Lauri Markkanen in the post. They had a 31-22 lead after the first quarter. The second unit continued the momentum. They started the second frame with a 16-5 run to build up a 47-27 lead in the early stages.

Felt like we were on the cusp of a classic OKC blowout. Something that's been their signature over their last two seasons' worth of NBA dominance. Instead, the Jazz slowly got back into it. Markkanen had it easy against the undersized Thunder. George continues to break out as a dynamic scorer.

The Thunder scored 27 points in the second quarter. They entered halftime with a 58-53 lead. Ice-cold outside shooting and giving up handfuls of offensive rebounds left the door open for the Jazz to get back into this one.

Unfortunately for the Thunder, the second half continued a bad habit — looking pretty lifeless on both ends of the floor. The OKC crowd had zero reasons to root along. Eventually, Jusuf Nurkic made a layup to give Utah a 70-69 lead with a little over seven minutes left in the third frame. Once a 20-point lopsided affair, we had a brand new ballgame. Add that to the long list of reasons to be upset about the reigning NBA champion.

Both teams put up 33 points in the third quarter. The Thunder had a 91-86 lead. While they remain having the league's best defense, the last couple of weeks have shown some slippage on that side of the floor. Add this game as the latest example, as Utah flirted with 90 points in three frames.

The herky-jerky offensive flow once again stopped for the Thunder. The offense dried up in the opening stages of the fourth quarter. Without Gilgeous-Alexander, the halfcourt offense melted down. Ajay Mitchell tried his best to get things going, but each miss was emphasized.

Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams were nowhere to be seen. Usually reliable, both All-Star-esque players couldn't pull the offense out of the mud. The former wasn't aggressive enough, while the latter's jumper continues to not be there. It was about as ugly as it's looked all season.

After ample opportunities, the Jazz finally made a run. Nurkic went with a throwback spin move on Holmgren to lay it up. As the entire OKC crowd stared down the possibility of a blown 20-point lead to a bottom-five team, the Jazz had built a 105-97 lead with a little under six minutes left. Not good. The vibes have never been worse.

Down by eight points, the Thunder rotated the dial. In a now-or-never moment, they got back into it in the final moments. Stationed at the dunker spot, Holmgren received Williams' pass. He converted an and-one layup. Suddenly, OKC was only down 107-104 with a little over four minutes left. A one-possession game at that juncture is all you could've hoped for.

After Walter Clayton Jr. pulled up from deep at the right-wing spot, he put the Thunder in a 112-108 deficit with a minute left. Gilgeous-Alexander immediately answered with a driving layup. A stop later and Williams finally enjoyed some luck with his pull-up jumper as his mid-range shot fell through.

Tied at 112 points with 28 seconds left, Markkanen looked like he hit the potential game-winner. Clayton Jr. couldn't score the dagger, but the former All-Star player was right there to clean up the miss and lay it in. With three seconds left, the Thunder were down two points.

For most in the building, it likely felt improbable. You needed some unreal shot-making in the final seconds. The margin of error was as thin as notebook paper. But for Gilgeous-Alexander, it was another moment to strengthen his MVP case.

Getting a clean look against George, Gilgeous-Alexander double-pumped and hit the mid-range jumper. Overtime, here we go. A 23-point fourth quarter was just enough to avoid catastrophe. To start overtime, neither team created a serious distance on the scoreboard.

Tied at 122 points with 41 seconds left, Holmgren collected Gilgeous-Alexander's missed spin move. He quickly slammed it down for the easy second-chance dunk. Svi Mykhailiuk missed a 3-point attempt on the other end. With only nine seconds left, all Utah could do was play the foul game.

Gilgeous-Alexander had the chance to get showered with 'MVP' chants at the free-throw line. Deservingly so, too. He put up an MVP-esque performance to ensure that the Thunder wouldn't drop three in a row for the first time in two seasons. As the final buzzer sounded, you could hear the entire arena collectively breathe a sigh of relief. The Thunder scored 15 points in the overtime period.

The Thunder shot 44% from the field and went 7-of-38 (18.4%) from 3. They shot 34-of-42 on free throws. They had 26 assists on 44 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with an efficient 46 points and six assists. Holmgren helped out with 23 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Williams finished with 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Mitchell had 16 points and five assists.

Meanwhile, the Jazz shot 44% from the field and went 11-of-41 (26.8%) from 3. They shot 16-of-21 on free throws. They had 33 assists on 49 baskets. Five Jazz players scored double-digit points.

Markkanen led the way with an efficient 29 points and 13 rebounds. George exploded for 25 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. Nurkic had a 15-point and 15-rebound double-double. Clayton Jr. had 15 points and six rebounds. Brice Sensabaugh scored 13 points.

Well, better to win ugly than lose pretty, I guess. The Thunder needed Gilgeous-Alexander at the apex of his powers to barely scrape by a Jazz squad looking to lose to keep their draft pick. While it's cool for his MVP resume, this desperate win doesn't really soothe any concerns of OKC's sudden drop-off in recent weeks.

That said, maybe the adrenaline will jumpstart the Thunder back to their usual dominant self. While they weren't perfect, Holmgren and Williams stepped up in high-leverage moments. The defense showed flashes of being shut down when it really needed to. Overall, this was a nice win to get some confidence. But OKC looks like it remains a work in progress to snap out of this funk.

Let's look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus

One night, you're accepting another yearly award. The next night, you hit the shot of the day. As Gilgeous-Alexander calmly found his spot in the mid-range, he swished in a jumper to send it into overtime and save the Thunder another day full of ridicule. Walking to the bench, he was zeroed in on a badly-needed win.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 46 points on 14-of-26 shooting, six rebounds and six assists. He shot 1-of-8 from 3 and went 17-of-19 on free throws. He also had one block and one steal.

Say what you want to say about needing this Superman effort to beat the lowly Jazz, but these types of games add bulletin points for Gilgeous-Alexander's MVP case. There's no way to really argue that the Thunder deserved this win. The same problems that have popped up in recent weeks remain — bad rebounding efforts, poor shooting.

Didn't matter. Gilgeous-Alexander is the ultimate equalizer. The Jazz had zero answers to stop one of the NBA's best scorers. He got to his spots in the mid-range. The drives to the rim were unguardable — even with two seven-foot players in Utah's frontcourt.

And for the first time in forever, Gilgeous-Alexander had a busy night at the free-throw line. He had double-digit attempts for the first time since Dec. 5. Well over a month. That's what happens when one of the worst defenses filled with young defenders has to go through some serious growing pains.

The only real criticism you can throw at Gilgeous-Alexander was continuously hunting the knockout punch. A handful of stepback 3-pointers hit the front of the rim. That's graduated into a reliable weapon for him, but it wasn't there tonight against Utah. Nevertheless, the shot of the night is all that mattered — his game-tying bucket at the end of regulation.

We haven't had a lot of chances to see Gilgeous-Alexander get a highlight like that. More often, he's sat out the entire fourth quarter or put this type of game away earlier in crunch time. But in a now-or-never moment, he barely avoided being on the wrong side of another upset.

Gilgeous-Alexander carried that momentum into overtime. He scored nine points in the five minutes. A couple of free-throw trips allowed the OKC crowd to let out a loud 'MVP' chant. Man, what an outing. And to think he was questionable the entire day.

Chet Holmgren: A-minus

Jan 7, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center/forward Chet Holmgren (7) dunks against the Utah Jazz during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Boxing out Markkanen, Holmgren grabbed a critical miss. Gilgeous-Alexander's spin move couldn't result in a go-ahead bucket with 22 seconds left in overtime. Before folks could even process the consequences, the 23-year-old slammed down a second-chance dunk.

Holmgren finished with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 12 rebounds and one assist. He shot 0-of-3 from 3 and went 5-of-8 on free throws. He also had three blocks and a steal.

The old sports cliche goes that it's not about how you start, but how you finish. Holmgren exemplified that. He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as he grinded out the final 17 minutes of game time in a game the Thunder badly needed.

It was a busy night at the paint for Holmgren. The Jazz have a couple of large bodies, but Markkanen and Nurkic aren't exactly known as rim protectors. The Thunder spammed several alley-oops to him as some microwavable offense. When that didn't happen, he was there to crash the glass and get some second-chance scores.

On the other end, Holmgren stepped up when needed. Sure, the Jazz sliced through OKC's paint defense. But the seven-footer's presence down the stretch forced Utah to play out some carnival-like possessions where it was forced to throw up some wild shot attempts.

Reviewing the film, there are definitely things that could be corrected in the first three quarters. But what Holmgren did in the final 17 minutes showed you why he was one of the biggest contributors to OKC's championship last season. At the highest-pressure spots, he helped the Thunder continue to roll along and got enough stops.

Jalen Williams: B-minus

Jan 7, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard/forward Jalen Williams (8) dunks against the Utah Jazz during the first quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

After second-guessing himself for a few possessions, Williams decided to hunt for his signature look. He went one-on-one with Sensabaugh. Creating space, he galloped back for a signature stepback mid-range jumper. The pull-up bounced a couple of times before it kissed the glass and fell through.

Excitement. Relief. Redemption. Use whatever word you want, but that was a big-time moment. Williams finished with 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting, eight assists and six rebounds. He shot 1-of-5 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws.

It's been quite an adventure for Williams since he returned from wrist surgery. More valleys than peaks. Maybe we've all underestimated how long it'd take for him to get back in the groove of things. The jumper has been absent for most of the season. I don't know how you can watch some of these badly missed outside shots and not worry about his wrist.

That said, Williams' pull-up jumper tied things up with 27 seconds left in regulation. It was one of several moments where someone on the Thunder came up big to rally late. You hope he can build off that.

Worry about all of the smaller problems that have surfaced in recent weeks, but the big one is whether Williams can return to his All-NBA form by the time the playoffs roll around. He has four months, but time is ticking. There's no other reality where the Thunder go back-to-back if he isn't an efficient 20-point scorer.

Ajay Mitchell: B

Getting the switch on Markannen, Mitchell went right into attack mode. He went by Utah's All-Star player and had the tough finish on the banked layup. The Thunder desperately needed someone else to step up as a go-to scorer. He did that once again.

Mitchell finished with 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting, five assists and two rebounds. He shot 2-of-7 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws. He also had three steals and a block.

Some of OKC's best minutes were when Mitchell ran the show. He's morphed into someone the reigning NBA champion feels comfortable with when he has the ball in his hands. You don't have to worry about the moment being too big for the shot-hungry scorer.

The Thunder will need Mitchell to continue his ascension. He's become too important to how their offense looks when Gilgeous-Alexander is off the floor. And when the reigning MVP is on it, he's the ultimate complementary player as a catch-and-shoot threat.