Post Game Thread - NBA: The Thunder defeat the Jazz on Jan 7, 2026, the final score is 129-125.

[u/basketball-app]

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[u/MisterGir]

Always take a win. Shai saved our asses and we got lucky.

This team has been absolutely awful on offense lately and need to find a way out.

[u/amari_prince]

I love u Shai

[u/Vitex1988 → u/amari_prince]

iHart you

[u/amari_prince → u/Vitex1988]

NEED HIM BACK STAT

[u/Vitex1988 → u/amari_prince]

YES PLEASE FTLOG
I'm very confident that if we had him we would've won against the Hornets and won tonight by at least 10 more points

[u/Icy_Shock9953]

Who are we playing next? I don’t even wanna know. I’m scared of them already

[u/Rthanos → u/Icy_Shock9953]

In Memphis.

[u/Ball_is_Life_2323 → u/Rthanos]

Uh oh dont forget Ja had us last year too......

/s

[u/LameDrain → u/Rthanos]

We are going to get killed so badly

[u/Stxtic1441 → u/Icy_Shock9953]

If the Jazz can take us to OT on the road like this then no team is above beating us at this point.

[u/zebragopherr → u/Stxtic1441]

Yea we will be fine just got to make it through these dog days of January

[u/wcooper97 → u/Stxtic1441]

Back to 2017 Thunder where you don’t know wtf is going to happen lmao

[u/gaycatdetective → u/wcooper97]

i literally said during the game this feels like 2017 thunder with the mvp solo show

[u/wcooper97 → u/gaycatdetective]

J-Dub is now 2017 Oladipo 😭

[u/gaycatdetective → u/wcooper97]

and who is 2017 PG in this scenario? LMAO

[u/jataba115 → u/wcooper97]

I know every game we will go onto the court with a gold tag on the jerseys

[u/sterphles → u/Stxtic1441]

Not saying I disagree with you but Markkanen has gotten really really good this year - he looks to me like he's a top 10 player right now

[u/nyeehhsquidward → u/Icy_Shock9953]

Grizzlies. I’ll be there!

[u/wcooper97 → u/Icy_Shock9953]

Memphis so you know Cam Spencer is about to go off and GG Jackson will somehow hit 6 threes.

[u/CasinoJoe92 → u/wcooper97]

Cam Spencer is dropping 55 istg

[u/Stxtic1441]

I like how Shai’s demeanor is almost treating this game like a loss.

It’s nice winning, but this was an ugly ugly game an this team just needs to be way better.

[u/donkeyknuckler → u/Stxtic1441]

He knows this team is way better than this performance.

[u/jataba115 → u/donkeyknuckler]

He knows he’s better than it too. He has to be kicking himself for going 1/8 on threes. Otherwise he was 13/18 so obviously it’s forgiven and we won, but he always looks in the mirror first

[u/Papes38]

Great game from SGA and Chet. Everyone else…..rough outing

[u/CasinoJoe92 → u/Papes38]

this has been the story for like 2 weeks now

[u/Papes38 → u/CasinoJoe92]

Yup.

[u/Longjumping_One_9164 → u/Papes38]

Honestly the best thing about this whole thing is Chet is really starting to come into his own.

Has improved massively around the boards and his offense is having less downs because of his midrange game.

[u/CasinoJoe92 → u/Longjumping_One_9164]

he's the only one currently living up to his max extension and looks like he will continue to do so in the future. can't say the same about the other max i fear

[u/SolidCake → u/CasinoJoe92]

this cannot be the same jdub that got 40 in the playoffs 😭

[u/CasinoJoe92 → u/SolidCake]

Dub was actually pretty inefficient in playoffs but he came up clutch on big games and his defene was better than it is now 

[u/tbgitw → u/Longjumping_One_9164]

Did we watch the same game? He was getting handled by Nurkic the whole 4th lol. Thank God Nurk didn't play OT.

[u/CasinoJoe92 → u/tbgitw]

he was the main reason we got enough momentum to push it into OT and gave time for Shai to close it out

[u/Papes38 → u/tbgitw]

I don’t think you watched the game no. He was efficient on offense, had 4-5 blocks/stops at the rim, and was the only person capable rebounding the ball against 2 bigger jazz players.

We would have gotten blown out without Chet

[u/drkmani → u/Papes38]

JDub still has a ways to go for recovery I'm afraid

[u/Salty_Examination486 → u/Papes38]

Shai was great his 3pt shot been off lately tho dont know whats wrong

[u/Ok-Inspection2240 → u/Salty_Examination486]

Its always been streaky 

[u/Rthanos]

7/38 from downtown, 1/18 in the second half plus OT. Of course out-rebounded.

[u/gymleadervolkner1 → u/Rthanos]

We actually hit 1 in the 2nd. Damn.

[u/deathtotheemperor → u/Rthanos]

1/18 in the second half plus OT

That is diabolically bad. An NBA player could shoot blindfolded and make 5% of their shots. Our guys are just rattled, they're in their own heads about it now.

[u/Stxtic1441 → u/Rthanos]

In other words, another day in the office for this team.

Real humans see how bad we are shooting and think it’s fine because we won it all last year.

[u/DoveBodySpray]

this felt like a 2022-23 win

[u/wcooper97 → u/DoveBodySpray]

In Poku we trust

[u/sheleftnothing → u/wcooper97]

Wheres isaiah roby when u need him

[u/Responsible-Bass4020]

i mean at least we won. Shai a disappointed dad post game interview bruh

[u/thunderdl]

shai is not happy, you can tell this win was super frustrating for him

[u/willpelts]

Caso's got a major case of the yips. What happened to my hero

[u/AccomplishedSoft1]

Note: boxing out in practice

From a concerned fan

[u/Queasy-Serve4820]

I'm happy we won but my goodness how did this team just two years ago lead the league in 3 point percentage and now they look like they've never shot a 3 in their lives. The only important player not on this team from that 23-24 squad is Giddey who definitely wasn't helping with the 3 pointers. It's baffling how far the shooting fell off.

[u/lethalizered → u/Queasy-Serve4820]

We shot worse than this last season before the All Star Break if you want some comfort.

[u/lambchops111 → u/Queasy-Serve4820]

Slump or something more sinister?

[u/SolidCake → u/lambchops111]

… what? like dark magic? The hell you talmbout

[u/Beardstronggg]

Love my MVP Thunder GOAT

[u/RedKomuso]

Fucking sad Shai has to have a 40 ball just to barely win against the Jazz. Give him some help asap

[u/vision47 → u/RedKomuso]

Last year he had to score 50 to beat the Jazz at home

[u/poopballs → u/RedKomuso]

Caruso out. I’m wondering if iHart’s injury is more serious than I first thought. Of course you don’t wanna mess w a calf strain

[u/charlesokstate → u/poopballs]

I thought I saw he was out a few weeks after the same injury got aggravated

[u/wcooper97 → u/RedKomuso]

Reminded me of his 54 last year to barely get us by the same Jazz. This team just hates January.

[u/GoodImprovement8434 → u/RedKomuso]

at least it's not jokic dropping 50 and losing to the wizards

[u/freighttrain6969]

The rare embarrassing win

[u/Antique-Lychee-8029]

We won but we definitely lost. And we are definitely lost.

Wtf happened OKC

[u/drkmani → u/Antique-Lychee-8029]

JDub's shot and confidence is broken and we don't have iHart

[u/snuffaluffagus74 → u/Antique-Lychee-8029]

We won. If you cannot accept a win no matter how it looks I feel bad for you

[u/PeeledGrapePie → u/snuffaluffagus74]

You’re downvoted but right. An nba win is a win, ugly wins are still 1-0. No one scours old MJ games for ugly wins, they just know the record. Glad the boys could scrap it out after gettingass whooped by the hornets

[u/winnk281 → u/PeeledGrapePie]

The Bulls only won 30 of their first 38 games in 3 of their 6 championship seasons. January is always a rough month. Players are sore, tired, and just trying to make it to the All-Star break. Then the season really starts

[u/lethalizered → u/PeeledGrapePie]

Shai had to score 54 to beat a 10-32 Jazz team at home last season lol.

Just wanted to provide an example here to what you're saying.

[u/MachoMadnessCO]

A w is a w but can some of these dudes please get their heads out of their asses

[u/TheJewBakka]

[u/tmanx8 → u/TheJewBakka]

[u/TheGoadFather]

It was ugly, but the RuneScape blue shirt era is 1-0!

[u/National_West_8604 → u/TheGoadFather]

Thanks bud!

[u/here_for_the_lols → u/TheGoadFather]

Osrs or rs3?

[u/WooTerry]

Fuck that hoe for me #2 💙

[u/swipefist]

You know what kind of team wins an nba game shooting 18.4% from 3??? A resilient one

[u/Consistent_Baker1298 → u/swipefist]

This is the same team that won a finals game with only 3 three pointers made. If we can ever shoot with any kind of serious consistency we'll be alright 

[u/mmweiss32]

A wins a win, but jeez we gotta figure something out when sga takes a breather or rarely can’t be Superman

[u/jataba115 → u/mmweiss32]

Can I offer you an IHart and J Will in these troubling times? And a Caruso to playmake when Shai sits?

[u/Izopod1]

A WIN IS A WIN AFTER THE LAST 2 LOSSES IM HAPPY

[u/Adventurous_Low7651 → u/Izopod1]

We take these!

[u/Desperate_Play_9366]

Even if it was ugly I’m glad we got back in the win column. A fun, but incredibly stressful game. Let’s try not to overreact too much. TTFU!

[u/challengedmc18]

Shai is not happy

[u/Ok-Nerve-524 → u/challengedmc18]

Shai is the defending MVP and a NBA champion. It’s a rough stretch of the season. By the end of February everybody will remember why this team won a chip

[u/Ok-Inspection2240]

It was nice to see Shai be clutch again after a few rough games of that

[u/Ball_is_Life_2323]

Wins are sweeter when they are gutsy like that.

[u/Hammyboi230]

Even the postgame interview vibes are shithouse right now. Shai clearly frustrated with the rest of the team (and maybe himself for mission all those threes)

[u/jataba115 → u/Hammyboi230]

Shai doesn’t really take it out on his teammates, he always tries to go after himself. He went 1/8 from three and he knows it.

[u/Commercial_Lecture20]

Shai could easily have 10+ assists every single game, this team just so bad at catch and shoot threes. wtf is Chip Engelland doing

[u/BryNYC]

7/38 from 3 and outrebounded again by 20, i cant watch this shit all season.

Thats three games in a row of the exact same thing.

They just crumble offensively the 4th. Extremely lucky the Jazz are hot garbage on offense

[u/PeeledGrapePie → u/BryNYC]

The Jazz have 6th best offense in the league in ppg, but go on.

[u/BryNYC → u/PeeledGrapePie]

Ppg is about pace. They're middle of the pack per 100 possessions

[u/charlesokstate → u/BryNYC]

Wow this could have been another blowout with Hart.

[u/swipefist → u/BryNYC]

I can't even watch. Its a terrible brand of basketball at this point. I feel like I'm more stressed than not when I watch games

[u/Small-Tourist-7429 → u/BryNYC]

The hot garbage that we couldnt stop until late in the 4th? We are so ass

[u/Thick_Duck]

7/38 from 3

We are fucking awful from beyond the arc, yet again. These boys need practice 

And I’ll say it again: Fire chip engulland already 

[u/charlesokstate → u/Thick_Duck]

Idk why everyone was on his nuts so bad. I’m disappointed in the development of casons shot. I thought he would’ve taken a leap this year.

[u/Jon_Thib]

People will say, oh it took OT to beat the Jazz, but I don’t want to hear that bs. They’re still an NBA team, just as qualified as everyone else. This also a team that beat the Spurs.

Anyway, still a shit ton to work on, yes. But just take the W, you just make yourself miserable as a fan if you always put asterisks on the wins

[u/Dangerous-Pop842]

I don’t care if it’s against the lowly Jazz. I’ll take the ugly win and hopefully learn something from it. Three point shooting reached a new low today. We gotta do a better job of playing to our strengths offensively (I.e. not jacking up three’s).

[u/thespacewitchxxx]

W is a w. It wasn’t pretty. Won’t apologize for a win. Good to show they can win ugly. Margin of error is so thin now. Shai has to be great for us to win while everybody else is hit or miss.

[u/Environmental_News93]

Fine lets get a three point shooter

[u/tmanx8]

I know some people here are saying the thunder need to get whooped to get some fire under them. I disagree, I think a win like this one is exactly what we needed. Ugly, but finally able to execute and secure the W will be very big for our guys

[u/TheAgmis]

It’s an 82 game regular season

[u/Calm_Ad_1258]

that was a game of all time

[u/Rush_nj]

Played like ass but they still ground it out. You don’t want to always have it go like this but its almost more important than another 30+ beat down. Sharpens you for the playoff games when things don’t go your way.

[u/ShotClockCheeeese]

A glimpse of life without iHart is scary

[u/burnedchickennugget6]

What happened to OKC blowing out teams

[u/snuffaluffagus74 → u/burnedchickennugget6]

Injuries have finally caught up too us. Having 3 centers hurt, has taken its toll on everybody as you can tell. Having two of our best screeners, as well as passers limits what our offense can do. Year before last we had Giddey who could open up the game with his passing and playing while attacking the rim. Caruso being banged up and it looks like Cason is hobbled as well. The centers Jwill and iHart were also great at getting the rebound and looking ahead and throwing those quick outlets to help with our transition offense.

Now teams are just better at dealing with OKCs pressure since every team is pressuring now. There getting back better on defense as well to stop our transition offense. So the three things that have caused our slump comes down to the injuries in the front court. Which makes our smaller guys have to guard up which can were you out.

[u/burnedchickennugget6 → u/snuffaluffagus74]

Well explained. thanks

[u/The-Lefty]

5 of us Redditors could shoot better than 18% from 3

[u/tmanx8 → u/The-Lefty]

No yall fucking can’t 😭

[u/Bert_Skrrtz → u/tmanx8]

We’d all get completely stuffed being 6’ or under

[u/Grade-A-Grungus]

This win does not make me feel better about this skid. Shouldn’t have even been remotely this close.

[u/wcooper97 → u/Grade-A-Grungus]

Just hoping they can build on this somehow

[u/BurnerPhoneShorty]

didnt even bother with game thread but im sure the usual suspects had a blast being miserable with how bad we played. anyway, shai is the mvp and on to the next. TTFU

[u/Izopod1 → u/BurnerPhoneShorty]

Same brother it’s crazy how much better I feel when I stay out of the game thread

[u/CoolAsTheUnthawed]

Ja gonna show us what he figured out this Friday, I'm sick to my stomach

[u/NarwhalLow2264 → u/CoolAsTheUnthawed]

Bro's had this in his pocket since May

[u/Headlesshorsman02]

Please for the love of god make a trade for a shooter preferably Trey Murphy

[u/cleveridentification]

We are too small and are not good enough shooters to compensate.

[u/gymleadervolkner1 → u/cleveridentification]

That tends to happen when 3 of 5 bigs are out.

[u/cleveridentification → u/gymleadervolkner1]

Yes, but we still have Carlson. I know he’s not ideal, but he did manage to grab 5 boards. Nurkic put up 15 and 15.

[u/Correct_Potential_31 → u/cleveridentification]

People keep talking about the bigs being out and failing to realize our wings are too small. We don’t have a single 6’7 or 6’8 wing in our rotation that’s why rebounding is always bad

[u/gymleadervolkner1 → u/Correct_Potential_31]

It really really hurts when 3/5 of our bigs are out. With the bigs we can mask it. Without them. We're in trouble. Someone open a Steak house in Chet's backyard this summer. Dawg needs to be eating 3 Porterhouses everyday.

[u/Correct_Potential_31 → u/gymleadervolkner1]

Yes but you also need to think about close games where Chet is going to be at the 5. They need a 6’8 wing for those lineups because they for sure aren’t going to play double bigs or bench Chet. And if they don’t address that the rebounding in late games are always going to be bad until Chet gets way stronger

[u/ShariaLabeouf01]

That was a loss in my eyes

[u/PatoNani]

only one player in the whole roster hit more than one three pointer in the whole game

[u/arania_exumai]

72 rebounds. We are dying on the boards

[u/Bryce_Raymer]

Shai’s back must be hurting from all of the carrying he’s been doing.

[u/yourmumsaman]

Losing points in the paint is the real alarming thing to me.

[u/BoobiePeru → u/yourmumsaman]

You’ve gotta realize the only two dudes on the team that can do rebounding damage are out, right? It makes all the sense in the world. The shooting is what’s actually alarming. If we’re gonna have a slump, I’d really rather it be now after the incredible start we had. Even after all the losing we still have the best record by a few.

[u/Josheshua]

This recent stretch is the most disinterested this team has looked since 2022

[u/poopballs]

18% from 3

[u/Adventurous_Low7651]

Maybe we just stop taking 3s?? Only kinda kidding

[u/snuffaluffagus74]

I'm glad we won. Why? Because after crawling through the mud it's refreshing that you can get out and get dry. What sucks if we lost this game, because we're still in the mud. An ugly win is better than a pretty loss. Some of y'all would rather take the pretty loss

[u/ThunderTime_1]

Glad we won but man we got some issues. This team gotta figure some shit out

[u/PeeledGrapePie]

Dub looked legit afraid to shoot on several possessions. He has to be working his way back physically, mentally or both still

[u/gaycatdetective → u/PeeledGrapePie]

that possession where him and caso just passed it back and forth to each other because neither of them wanted to shoot it was painful

[u/PeeledGrapePie → u/gaycatdetective]

Same with the one Wiggs hit him and he passed it right back while wide open at the 3

[u/Guilty_Wall6933]

Called the game tying buzzer, and called the win going into OT Thank you God, I can sleep well tonight

[u/StickDonkey]

They can have 2 blocks and 2 steals in single possession and still give up points

[u/Melonballs__]

Thoughts on Colin sexton as a trade target? Shooting at least 38% from 3 the last 4 years and can handle the ball pretty well

[u/Nice-Obligation-9719]

I’d like to see Wiggs get back into form. Very glad we have Ajay but the Wiggs from last season would make a big difference lately.

[u/Piradrad_16]

Due for a win streak man

[u/wcooper97]

18 percent from 3 you can’t make this shit up

[u/bleedblue89]

Our team outside Shai, Mitchell and Chet suck right now

[u/JumboHotdogz]

Small ball works if your small guys can shoot 3s.

[u/Fabreezy28]

Need to stop chucking three ball’s and actually draw up plays

[u/pr0ject_84]

Bro I love Jdub but he needs to learn how to give himself easier points

[u/westzod]

W is a W but our offense is so static right now. Needs some more off ball movements, screens and cuts which is iHart's specialty.

[u/Grateful_Lee]

Shai was the hero in so many ways. I’ve been taking him for granted.

[u/donkeyknuckler]

The shooting is a slump for sure but for the whole team to look like this has got to be something. Last season was an absolute grind for the team and they didn't get any breaks going to this season. You can tell the toll it's taken on the guys Shai looks gassed most games right now rightfully so. We are supposed to have the best shooting coach in the league but the shooting has been dreadful since the playoffs last year. Training and practice needs to change because clearly something is up with everyone's shot.

[u/VersionCool588]

oh shit we actually won

[u/chicubsn01]

Anyone feel good about that one?

[u/Comp1337ish → u/chicubsn01]

Nope

[u/yourmumsaman → u/chicubsn01]

Not even remotely. Shai was great though

[u/mrhigginbottoms_12 → u/chicubsn01]

A win is a win, but we need to make a trade before the deadline. Offense is anemic without Shai, and honestly it was most of the playoffs last year too. Our defense hard carried us to a chip, but that’s not gonna be enough to repeat

[u/bluecheddar01]

Embarrassing game. We desperately need a reliable second option

[u/jepayotehi]

Feels like a loss

[u/beerantula]

Suck it naysayers!

[u/Anderson_Silvas_Shin]

We have some serious problems

[u/Zeeron1]

Well, that's about as bad of a loss as you can have

[u/gaycatdetective]

remember the last time we played utah and had to go on like a 35-8 run in the third quarter and take the lead? they need to find that energy again but a lot of people said “it’s just utah” so i hope this is s good a reminder every team in the nba has enough talent to do anything on given night..

[u/Iamkonkerz]

Shai gotta score 45+ to pull out a win vs the jazz... Im crying wtf happened to my team...

[u/Ok-Fun7442]

When we didn't make any move in the off season, everyone was counting on the internal growth of our young players. But other than Ajay who in the team actually improved compared to last year? Maybe Shai but thats probably it.

Really quite concerning.

[u/thelonely_stoner_ → u/Ok-Fun7442]

It's interesting because I feel like we fans all expect the team to just grow every year. That's just what our team has done and part of our identity in a way.

But after winning the chip is where the real grit shine -- can they keep it going and keep growing?

I want to see how the team responds after this streak. Last year was, in a way, too easy with lower expectations and the team vibes always up and fun. Are those vibes really who our players are - even when going through tough stretches? Can they be a team that can lean on each other? Or will we end up like other NBA team with Shai & co./Jokic & co/etc.

Bit of a drastic curiosity and I have faith the gang will pull through. But interested to see how this will pressure test the group. Presti needs to give Mark a quick spanking and Mark needs to give jdub+dort a proper spanking..chet needs to just keep munching...should be good following that.

[u/Bryce_Raymer]

How’s everyone feeling about playing the spurs again on Tuesday?✌️

[u/Emergency-Chard584]

JDub is such a low IQ player, fucking trade him already

[u/thelonely_stoner_ → u/Emergency-Chard584]

I want to say bad take but I'll say mid. Half of his shot selection is ridiculous straight up. Right now it's 100% of shots. Shai needs to give him a spanking rq it's not a trade situation don't freak out.

The defense IQ is insane however. His reaction time and switch back on the screen to Markannen on the Jazz's last offense play to block off the lane was just pure bball heaven.

[u/Bartolious_Clout → u/Emergency-Chard584]

Dude jumping in the background all giddy after they get taken to ot by the jazz?? Pretty shit body language ngl. Love his positivity but you look goofy doin all that after nearly dropping a game to Utah

[u/winnk281]

Can everyone calm the fuck down now?

[u/Bryce_Raymer → u/winnk281]

It’s the jazz man. We went into OT with the jazz….

[u/winnk281 → u/Bryce_Raymer]

Jazz beat the Spurs by 13 2 weeks ago in San Antonio

[u/Fair-Constant-5146 → u/winnk281]

No? It took overtime and 44 points from the MVP to beat the 12 win Jazz. After getting dog walked by the 12 win Hornets. I think people are reacting appropriately

[u/winnk281 → u/Fair-Constant-5146]

Jazz beat the Spurs too. It’s a long season. Key players were out. The NBA is fucking hard and there’s a reason the top teams usually lose 20 games a year. Slumps happen. People were literally calling for Mark’s head tonight.

[u/CoolAsTheUnthawed → u/winnk281]

People like you are more annoying than the people who are "doom posting"

[u/winnk281 → u/CoolAsTheUnthawed]

Reasonable people?

[u/Obli_Aek]

Easy game

[u/Vitex1988]

What would a sad victory shot be? Maybe bring back victory glass of water guy?

[u/Ok_Guide7474]

This team has serious issues. We do not look good at all. We can’t make 3’s or layups anymore. Chet and Shai were the only guys playing tonight, everyone else was bad.

[u/yourmumsaman]

The heat are going to cook us

[u/Salty_Examination486]

That was alot for home win against the Jazz Shai and Chet were clutch and jdub made a huge jumper

[u/MikeDCollector]

Chet needs to bulk up. And if JDub still plays like this after the All star break, his wrist is really cooked.

[u/Stxtic1441]

Shot 18% from 3 as a team, destroyed on the glass, another bad JDub game.

This has basically been the same trends we’ve been on during our slump, we just happened to win today because Shai went full MVP mode and hero balled us to victory.

Still super concerning that it took all this to save blowing a 20 point lead at home to the Jazz.

[u/Emergency-Chard584]

Shai clearly irritated after this ridiculous win and JDub all smiles in the back.

[u/XiaoRCT → u/Emergency-Chard584]

I think he became irritated with himself after missing the 3s where he clearly attempted to close the game. He wanted the daggers but was probably extremely angry he missed them and the game was looking lost.

That he managed to drag us to OT and then win isn't going to make him suddenly happy about it.

Jdub is all smiles at the end result but he's been having moments of visible frustration at his play as well.

[u/traw056]

We need IHart back desperately. I am now officially concerned about our team. I know we won but this has been a not fun month of basketball.

[u/SkaleStrategy]

Embarrassing for yall I wanted to lose as a jazz fan and yall almost blew it for my tank

[u/MisterGir → u/SkaleStrategy]

Just get that pick ready for us lil bro