Thunder raises a banner in thrilling Rockets win capped a night of pure pandemonium at Paycom Center, where the Oklahoma City Thunder unfurled their first NBA championship flag to roaring ovations before slipping past Kevin Durant’s Houston Rockets in a heart-stopping 125-124 double-overtime nail-biter that had fans on the edge of their seats from tip-off to the final buzzer.
The pre-game pomp – gleaming rings handed out under spotlights, Mark Daigneault hoisting the blue-and-orange banner high – set the tone for a season opener that blended nostalgia with nonstop drama, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s cool-as-ice 35 points steered the defending champs through a storm stirred by Alperen Sengun’s monster 39-point, 11-rebound, seven-assist masterpiece for the resilient Rockets.
The air crackled with electricity as the Thunder’s brass – from owner Clay Bennett to the ’24 Finals MVPs – paraded those diamond-encrusted jewels, each glinting like a promise kept after years of rebuild grit.
Chet Holmgren, the lanky unicorn who anchored that playoff run, slipped his on with a sheepish grin, whispering to SGA, “Feels heavier than the trophy.” But the real weight came post-ceremony, when Durant’s Rockets – reloaded with Sengun’s Turkish flair and Jalen Green’s explosive drives – clawed back from a 15-point hole to force OT.
Sengun, turning 23 just last month, owned the paint like a veteran sage, swatting shots and sinking mid-rangers that kept Houston’s hearts pumping. “Alperen’s a beast – no quit in that kid,” Durant admitted postgame, his brow furrowed under the arena’s haze, after a late three rattled out to seal the visitors’ fate.
SGA, though? The Canadian cool cat was poetry in motion, weaving through traps for silky fades and dishing dimes that lit up the bench. His game-winner – a pull-up over Dillon Brooks with 1.2 ticks left in the second OT – sent the Paycom faithful into a frenzy, confetti cannons bursting like Fourth of July fireworks.
Jalen Williams chipped in 28 with lockdown D on Durant (22 points on a clunky 8-for-20), while Holmgren’s blocks (four total) turned the rim into a no-fly zone.
For Houston, it was a moral victory laced with what-ifs: Fred VanVleet’s ankle tweak in the third sidelined their floor general, and a controversial goaltend call on Sengun’s putback loomed large.
“We matched their fire; we just need that extra spark,” Ime Udoka sighed, eyes on a gruelling November slate. Across the league, the night hummed with fresh narratives.
In San Francisco, the Golden State Warriors edged the Los Angeles Lakers 119-109, a poignant opener sans LeBron James for the first time in 23 years – the King nursing a knee tweak on the bench, mic’d up for TNT banter.
Steph Curry torched for 32, including a logo prayer that hushed the Chase Center doubters, while Anthony Davis’ 28-12 double-double couldn’t mask the Lakers’ rust.
“Bron’s voice was gold; we’ll miss his legs, but this squad’s reloaded,” JJ Redick quipped, nodding to rookies like Bronny James logging garbage-time minutes in a feel-good footnote.
As the Thunder’s banner sways high, this opener whispers of dynasties dawning. OKC’s 2-0 preseason vibe? Just the appetiser. With SGA’s MVP buzz and a bench deeper than the Sooner State’s oil wells, the West feels theirs to conquer. Rockets fans, hearts heavy but heads high, eye Sengun as their next big thing. NBA’s script?