OKLAHOMA CITY — Collecting a miss, Jaylin Williams wanted to show off some ‘Show Time’ magic against the team that coined the famous term. He went with a spin-around bounce pass as Cason Wallace ran a baseline cut. Leaping off the floor, the latter posterized a contesting Marcus Smart. That drew the loudest reaction from the OKC crowd.

It was all fun and games. The Oklahoma City Thunder absolutely dominated the Los Angeles Lakers in a 121-92 win. The final score doesn’t do justice to just how lopsided this turned, as the reigning NBA champion led by as many as 37 points.

All the lights were on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic. Both are two of the league’s best five players. Their fanbases have clashed for years. Endless online debates exist as to who the better all-time player is. Recently, Gilgeous-Alexander has pulled ahead. Count tonight as the latest example.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic took turns going bucket-for-bucket in the opening possessions. Then the Thunder took over. They built a 30-18 lead after the first quarter. Everything went their way. The avalanche escalated in the second frame.

The Thunder doubled the Lakers with 40 points. Alex Caruso bullied Austin Reaves for a steal. He then hit an outside jumper on the other end. That sequence summed up the night. Everything went OKC’s way. It entered halftime with an unreal 70-38 lead that had everybody in the building wondering what they were seeing.

With an indestructible lead, the second half turned into a party and stat-padding. The Thunder scored 30 points in the third frame. Most of the OKC crowd stayed to see at least the first three frames. Gilgeous-Alexander tried out his playmaking wizardry when he found Isaiah Joe for the corner 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Thunder had a 100-64 lead after the third quarter. Yep, you read that right. 100-64. Gilgeous-Alexander sat out another fourth quarter. That’s become a common occurence. They scored 28 points in the final frame. The OKC crowd’s biggest reaction was when Bronny James checked in.

The Thunder shot 50% from the field and went 12-of-39 (30.8%) from 3. They shot 21-of-23 on free throws. They had 28 assists on 44 baskets. Seven Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 30 points and nine assists in three quarters. At this point, that’s the standard. Joe scored a surprising 21 points. Ajay Mitchell had 14 points. Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein each had 11 points. Alex Caruso and Ousmane Dieng each had 10 points.

Meanwhile, the Lakers shot 40% from the field and went 11-of-35 (31.4%) from 3. They shot 19-of-28 on free throws. They had 19 assists on 31 baskets. Four Lakers players scored double-digit points.

Doncic was held to 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Reaves only had 13 points and five rebounds. Rui Hachimura finished with 13 points and five rebounds. Dalton Knecht scored 16 points off the bench.

They’ve normalized it, but what the Thunder have done in the last season-plus is NBA history. What’s happening in OKC only happens once in a lifetime. Teams shouldn’t make games look like a walk in the park. Fans shouldn’t walk into Paycom Center or turn on their TVs expecting a double-digit win every night. This is not how professional sports work.

But as the Lakers came into town with ESPN behind them, the Thunder proved once again why they’re closer to being in the same conversations as the 1990s Bulls and 2010s Warriors than any current team in the league. Doncic was viewed as a Kryptonite, but that conventional wisdom may be outdated.

Let’s look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus

Slowing down his dribble, Gilgeous-Alexander had Hachimura in front of him. The mismatch had him salivating at a potential highlight. He didn’t waste time on the golden opportunity. The reigning MVP crossed him over for a semi-decent look.

Instead of settling for the jumper, though, Gilgeous-Alexander pulled out the rare two-handed pump-fake. Hachimura bit on it. That allowed him to step through and scoop the easy underhanded layup.

It was too easy for Gilgeous-Alexander. He finished with 30 points on 10-of-18 shooting, nine assists and five rebounds. He shot 2-of-7 from 3 and went 8-of-9 on free throws. He also had two steals. And once again, he did all that in three quarters.

You should know the drill by now. Usually, Gilgeous-Alexander takes his time to get going. He’d rather see his teammates get in a rhythm. But in primetime TV against Doncic and the Lakers, he had to show out in front of a national audience.

No need to tax his legs. The Lakers’ nonexistent defense made it easy for Gilgeous-Alexander. He sliced through for easy layups. And he found a flow with his signature mid-range jumper. Going back and forth with Doncic in the early stages were the most intriguing possessions of this laughter.

The playmaking continues to look like a legitimate leap. He’s been pedestrian in that area for most of his career. But that’s turned around this year. Now, the 30-point scorer drives with another purpose. He either kicks it out to the perimeter or throws it up for his roller.

You don’t want to make any bold comments, but anybody trying to downplay what Gilgeous-Alexander has done over the last season to say Doncic is still a better player is just silly. At the very least, they’re in the same stratosphere. The examples continue to grow on why that’s the case.

Ajay Mitchell: B

Pump-faking at the perimeter, Hachimura didn’t fall for it this time. Didn’t matter. Mitchell still took a couple of dribbles into the perimeter before he floated in the air and flicked up another floater. His finesse around the rim has expedited his development and led him to have his own ESPN segment.

Mitchell finished with 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting, three rebounds and three assists. He shot 1-of-5 from 3 and went 1-of-1 on free throws. He also had three steals.

It was a group effort for the Thunder. Besides Gilgeous-Alexander, nobody was undeniably dominant. Mitchell was somebody else who had his highlight plays against the Lakers. He kept being another go-to scoring option and notched another double-digit performance.

To Mitchell’s credit, he held his own on the defensive end. Against Doncic and Reaves, that could’ve been a weak point on defense. Instead, he absorbed Reaves’ bumps and took away all driving lanes. He looked irrelevant after a hot start to his season.

Juggling injuries, Mitchell has taken advantage of the absences. He went from being on the outside of the rotation to an important starter as several players sit out. This type of developmental success is the main reason why OKC is viewed as the consensus title favorite.

Alex Caruso: B-plus

Running behind Reaves in transition, Caruso knocked the ball out of his hands. The body-on-body clash created a turnover-to-score sequence. More importantly, it riled up the OKC crowd. That’s the type of blue-collar basketball the fanbase loves to see.

Caruso finished with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, four rebounds and three assists. He shot 2-of-3 from 3. He also had two steals.

By the end of the night, Doncic likely yearned for Lu Dort. The Batman to his Joker. It’s one thing to have to worry about one designated defender. But two with Caruso and Wallace? That had him huffing and puffing the entire night on his way to one of his worst performances of the season.

At this point, everybody should agree that the Thunder have the deepest roster in the NBA. Missing a couple of All-Defense Team players from last season? Here come two more that are capable of reaching the same honor.

If you’re Caruso, you have to love seeing the leap Wallace has made. He’s taken on the opposition’s best player for three straight games now. From Ja Morant to Stephen Curry to Doncic. All provide their own unique challenges. But he shut them all down.

Isaiah Joe: B-plus

Celebrating with Gilgeous-Alexander, Joe’s last-second corner make was a nice way to punctuate this lopsided affair. To show how everybody on the Thunder had a chance to shine, he was the second-leading scorer behind the reigning MVP.

Joe finished with 21 points on 5-of-11 shooting, five assists and two rebounds. He shot 4-of-10 from 3 and went 7-of-7 on free throws. He also had two steals.

After a career season last year, you had to wonder how Joe would follow up. Especially after an NBA championship. Would he need a whilen to get going, or would he one-up himself? So far, it’s easily been the latter. He’s been a scoring punch off the bench.

The Thunder aren’t the greatest outside shooting team, but Joe is one of the best at what he does. He doesn’t need long to let off an outside jumper. Playing with drive-heavy scorers has helped him get plenty of easy looks on the catch-and-shoot variety.

Not only are the Thunder dangerous with Gilgeous-Alexander, but they can win the minutes with him off the floor. Joe is a big reason for that. He helps maintain a decent scoring flow. Some subtle improvements as a ball-handler have made everything crisp in those lineups.

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