Oklahoma City Thunder (55-15) beat Brooklyn Nets (17-52) 121-92 on the road on Wednesday, March 18. The final margin was 29 points.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Thunder struck first, taking the opening quarter 28-11 and a 17-point lead after one. The Thunder kept the pressure on with a 32-13 second quarter, carrying a 36-point lead into halftime.
The teams matched each other with 31 points apiece in the third quarter, so the Thunder remained ahead by 36 entering the fourth. The Nets took the fourth 37-30; the Thunder held on for a 121-92 regulation win.
Why it was lopsided
The Thunder got more from their shots, finishing at 61.2% effective field-goal shooting compared with 43.7% for the Nets. The Thunder took better care of the ball, turning it over on 16.6% of possessions compared with 22% for the Nets. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Nets did win one battle, the free-throw line: FT rate of 29.1 against 20. The Thunder made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 104 possessions per team, the Thunder produced 116.7 points per 100 possessions to 88.8 for the Nets.
Who stood out
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the game's biggest individual force for OKC: 20 pts, 3 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl on 8-9 shooting. His Game Score of 24.2 led everyone. His team was +27 with him on the floor.
Chaney Johnson led the Nets with 12 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast on 5-6 shooting, good for a 14.2 Game Score.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Thunder about a 87% chance.
Across the last 3 meetings in our records, Oklahoma City Thunder lead 3-0.
The Thunder are now 55-15, and the Nets are 17-52. The Thunder last five before this game: W-W-W-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.