As Jaylin Williams grabbed the microphone, Isaiah Hartenstein’s attention was zeroed in on him. Ever the professional, the seven-footer didn’t sense his teammates surrounding and dump ice-cold water on him. It’s the only appropriate way to celebrate his career night.

The vibes were great. The Oklahoma City Thunder enjoyed a 132-101 win over the Sacramento Kings. They start off the 2025 NBA Cup group play with an impressive victory and cushy point differential.

Early on, the start looked eerily similar to their first loss of the season. The Thunder built up an early double-digit lead, but the Kings came right back with hot outside shooting. Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan couldn’t miss from the outside. The Thunder were in a 32-30 deficit after the first quarter.

With Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench, the Thunder fed the ball to Hartenstein until his belly was full. No Domantas Sabonis meant easy buckets inside the paint. He finished around the rim as Sacramento had no answer. He had a 20-point double-double at halftime. You only see that type of line from him maybe a handful of times a season.

The Thunder scored an absurd 40 points in the second frame. The offense found a flow. Once Gilgeous-Alexander checked back in, he got into a groove. They entered halftime with a 70-56 lead over the Kings.

Only the early stages of the third quarter provided intrigue on the result. Even when the Kings were cut the game to a single-digit deficit, they couldn’t get out of their own way. To exemplify that, Dennis Schroder was forced to call an early timeout as nobody from Sacramento was near him to receive an inbound pass.

Just shows how weird this Sacramento squad is. Being forced to burn a timeout to avoid a five-second violation shows how out of synch they are. It’s a weird mix of veteran high-usage guards who overlap in their scoring talent. The Thunder scored 28 points in the third frame. They had a 98-83 lead over the Kings.

And once the outside shooting from Westbrook and DeRozan cooled down, nobody else on the Kings could get going. I mean, Drew Eubanks was their third-best player. That shows just how off the rest of the team was against the league’s best defense.

Once Gilgeous-Alexander crossed 30 points, he wasn’t needed the rest of the way. The Thunder made it a goal to make Hartenstein look like prime Wilt Chamberlain. It worked as he had a monster performance. A 21-7 run put this one away. They scored 34 points in the final frame and led by as many as 34 points.

The Thunder shot 54% from the field and went 13-of-35 (37.1%) from 3. They shot 21-of-24 on free throws. They had 27 assists on 49 baskets. Six Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 30 points in 30 minutes. Hartenstein turned in a monstrous 33-point and 19-rebound double-double. Ajay Mitchell joined in on the fun with an 18-point and 10-assist double-double. Cason Wallace had 15 points. Chet Holmgren finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Isaiah Joe scored 14 points.

Meanwhile, the Kings shot 41% from the field and went 15-of-40 (37.5%) from 3. They shot 10-of-15 on free throws. They had 27 assists on 38 baskets. Four Kings players scored double-digit points.

Westbrook had 24 points, nine assists and six rebounds. DeRozan finished with 18 points and five rebounds. Eubanks scored 16 points. Malik Monk had 15 points off the bench.

This was another comfortable win that the Thunder have normalized over the last two seasons. You might take it for granted in the moment, but the regular-season machine they are is not how an NBA year should play out. Juggling injuries, Gilgeous-Alexander and Hartenstein stepped up to get another ho-hum win.

These are the types of nights that might get mundane, but should be enjoyed. Fans were able to roll over on their couch and cover themselves in a warm blanket. Nothing but warm and fuzzy feelings as the Thunder continue to look like the NBA’s best team.

Let’s look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus

Egging Joe on to break an unwritten rule to score in garbage time, the most activity Gilgeous-Alexander did in the fourth quarter was standing up. It was another night where the reigning MVP was able to clock out earlier than scheduled. Make that four of the last five games where he didn’t play the final frame.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting, three assists and one rebound. He shot 2-of-6 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws. He also had two steals and one block.

After a little bit of a slow start, Gilgeous-Alexander got into the flow of things. He rediscovered his mid-range jumper. Hoping to avoid taxing his legs even further, that’s what he relied on to get to his 30 points. The drive-heavy scorer didn’t need to get deep into the teeth of Sacramento’s nonexistent defense.

Hoping to put this one away early, Gilgeous-Alexander took over in the third quarter. That’s typically his money frame. His pull-up jumper was automatic as the Kings saw their deficit balloon. He scored 15 points in the frame to put this one away and give his teammates a head start at the start of the fourth quarter.

Just another textbook performance. At this point, 30 points is the expectation. Even when it feels like Gilgeous-Alexander is off to a weird start, he manages to cross that territory. This is what the peak of one of the greatest scorers looks like. He can nonchalantly get to his spots and knock down jumpers.

Let’s segue to who’s next. Gilgeous-Alexander is consistently praised for his accomplishments. His off nights would be most NBA players’ career performances. But let’s quit burying the lede and talk about who was the main character in tonight’s episode.

Isaiah Hartenstein: A-plus

Usually playing within the flow of the offense, Hartenstein had the chance to experience what an NBA superstar stomachs every night. Aware of his career night, all of his Thunder teammates kept pointing to him to either post up deep in the paint or set a pick-and-roll.

Hartenstein showed why most fans beg him to be a little more selfish. He finished with a career-high 33 points on 14-of-17 shooting, 19 rebounds and three assists. He shot 5-of-6 on free throws. He also had three blocks and a steal.

Facing four old guards without Sabonis, the Thunder knew who to feed the ball to. Hartenstein couldn’t be stopped anywhere near the rim. He grabbed plenty of alley-oops. That’s been a staple in OKC’s offense this season. He was also a putback machine.

Hartenstein had 20 points at halftime. Just unreal production. For context, he’s only had two 20-point games since he joined OKC. Feeling himself, he was more liberal with his patented floater. The ball kept going through the basket. And as the timeless adage goes, you keep feeding the hot hand until it cools off.

Cutting to the basket, Hartenstein’s last bucket was being fed a dunk by Mitchell. The seven-footer was a machine on the boards, too. He grabbed 19 rebounds. The Kings didn’t have the size to box him out on their misses. He finished a board shy of a classic 30-20 game, but you can’t complain too badly.

What a career night for Hartenstein. It sparked an online conversation that the Thunder have to find a way to keep him around for the long-term future. That’s not a prisoner-of-the-moment opinion, either. Since he joined OKC, he’s been a double-double machine. Find any financial loopholes you can, but most have shifted into the camp of keeping him around beyond this year.

Ajay Mitchell: A

Driving to the basket, Mitchell was dangerously fouled by Westbrook while in the air. He slammed into the stanchion shoulder-first. He slapped the floor in frustration, but the former MVP immediately regretted the reckless foul and was assessed a flagrant foul.

It was the only scary moment of another awesome performance by Mitchell. Thunder fans held their breath as he shook it off. Not just for his safety, but the 23-year-old has graduated into a player that OKC can’t afford to lose for any amount of time.

Mitchell finished with 18 points on 5-of-12 shooting, 10 assists and five rebounds. He shot 2-of-2 from 3 and went 6-of-6 on free throws. He also had three steals and one block.

With another monster fourth quarter, Mitchell has taken Jalen Williams’ previous responsibility of being OKC’s closer. He scored 12 points. The scary fall didn’t stop him from driving to the basket. High free-throw numbers have given him a safe floor for his scoring output.

The playmaking also flashed. Mitchell is a score-first guard, but has shown he can make the textbook play. Attacking the paint, he fed several of his teammates easy looks around the rim. Hartenstein has turned into his favorite pick-and-roll partner because of it.

Where would the Thunder be without Mitchell? He’s helped run the bench lineups. And as Gilgeous-Alexander relaxed on the bench, he added to OKC’s lead in the fourth quarter. No funny business was involved this time. He’s such a huge luxury for this squad and exactly what it missed last year.

Cason Wallace: B-plus

Well, this is one way to celebrate a birthday. Turning 22 years old, Wallace continues to add momentum. He’s been a mainstay in the starting lineup because of a handful of injuries. But considering what he brings on defense and if his outside shot has truly turned a corner, he might not give up that spot easily.

Wallace finished with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, two rebounds and two assists. He shot 3-of-4 from 3. He also had one steal.

As mentioned earlier, the outside shot has come around for Wallace. He was ice-cold at the start of the season. But the past two weeks have had some positive regression to the mean. On the other side, the defense speaks for itself. He leads the league in steals but can play shutdown one-on-one defense.

Through the first 10 games of the season, Wallace has been the perfect piece next to the rest of the starters. Gilgeous-Alexander can kick it out to him around the perimeter. He can shut down the opposition’s best perimeter scorer. You couldn’t have dreamed up a better complementary piece with plenty of room to grow still.

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