Going with a spin move, a shot-hunting Chet Holmgren found Isaiah Hartenstein at the dunker spot. A baseline floater was the latest example of the big-to-big chemistry those two have sharpened this season.

Took a little longer than expected, but the Oklahoma City Thunder cruised to a 109-96 win over the Charlotte Hornets. They turned it up a couple of notches in the second half after a surprisingly competitive first half.

Considering Charlotte’s lengthy injury report, it felt like the Thunder would walk into an easy win. That eventually became the case, but the first half saw both squads go back and forth. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did his thing early on. But Holmgren’s aggressiveness opened a few eyes. Both teams were tied at 30 points apiece after the first quarter.

The second quarter saw much of the same. The Thunder struggled to generate offense with Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench. Meanwhile, the Hornets relied on hot outside shooting to stay in it without LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.

The Thunder scored 25 points in the second frame. They entered halftime with a 55-52 lead over the Hornets. Things were too easy for Gilgeous-Alexander, as he had 18 points. Same with Holmgren, as he had 14 points at the break.

After playing around with their food, the Thunder locked in. Per usual, they had a third-quarter avalanche to pull away on the scoreboard. Hartenstein had a bounce pass to Gilgeous-Alexander, who had an open lane to a layup thanks to a smart cut. OKC had a 20-8 run.

Suddenly, the Thunder were up by 20 points. A little surprising with how back and forth the first half was. They had an 87-70 lead after the third quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points in 29 minutes. The Hornets couldn’t slow him down, as the young roster learned through first-hand experience why he’s the reigning MVP.

The Thunder led by as many as 22 points. The fourth quarter was mostly inconsequential. Albeit the Hornets made a couple of runs to get it within 10-ish points. That forced OKC to call a couple of timeouts as its second unit offense froze up. They scored 22 points in the final frame.

The Thunder shot 51% from the field and went 11-of-23 (47.8%) from 3. They shot 8-of-10 on free throws. They had 26 assists on 45 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with a stress-free 33 points and seven assists. Holmgren helped out with 25 points and eight rebounds. Hartenstein had a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double. Ajay Mitchell scored 14 points as he returned to a bench role. Cason Wallace had 10 points and four assists.

Meanwhile, the Hornets shot 39% from the field and went 16-of-42 (38.1%) from 3. They shot 6-of-7 on free throws. They had 23 assists on 37 baskets. Five Hornets players scored double-digit points.

Miles Bridges had 15 points and four assists. Moussa Diabate tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds. Ryan Kalkbrenner had 13 points and seven rebounds. Collin Sexton scored 13 points. Tre Mann finished with 10 points against his former squad.

Not the prettiest win, but a necessary one. The Thunder were on autopilot for the first half but turned it up in the third quarter to pull away. That’s enough to get an easy win over the short-handed Hornets. This is what reigning NBA champions do. These are the type of gimmes that separate the real contenders from the rest of the pack.

For any Sooners fans hoping to enjoy an easy win as part of their post-win celebration over Alabama, they got exactly what they wanted. Oklahoma has become a defense-first state. And the Thunder own the largest slice of the responsibility pie for that.

Let’s look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus

Lowering his shoulder, Gilgeous-Alexander low-dribbled past Bridges. After creating space with a couple of steps, he went with the underhanded layup that banked into the basket. It slowly bounced a couple of times on the rim before gently falling through. Talk about touch.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 33 points on 13-of-19 shooting, seven assists and four rebounds. He shot 3-of-4 from 3 and went 4-of-5 on free throws. He also had two steals. All in three quarters, by the way.

As usual, Gilgeous-Alexander has normalized these historic outings. He’s made scoring 30 points in three quarters look as mundane as brushing your teeth every morning. Considering Charlotte started three rookies, you could’ve circled this matchup as one where the reigning MVP would be able to pretty up his stats.

In this installment, Gilgeous-Alexander did from the field. He can score at all three levels — plus a hidden fourth one at the free-throw line. He was a jumper machine. He got to his mid-range spots with ease and knocked down a few stepback 3-pointers. His drives resulted in easy layups. Both on and off the ball.

After messing around too much, Gilgeous-Alexander had enough. He was a third-quarter machine with 15 points. A mid-range fadeaway jumper capped off another dominant frame where the Thunder ran away on the scoreboard because he took over the game. That’s been a similar game script OKC has followed over the last season-plus.

A little tongue-in-cheek to say this, but will the constant fourth-quarter rests hurt his MVP case? It’ll water down his averages, but hopefully, MVP voters are nuanced enough to understand why. We’ll see how it plays out, but it’s a rich-person problem 29 other fanbases will gladly deal with.

Chet Holmgren: A-plus

Receiving the ball from the perimeter, Holmgren was determined to go head-first to the basket. He took one dribble before he picked up the ball to drive to the basket. He powered through Kalkbrenner and went up for the jam. Kon Knueppel learned why the NBA level is different when his attempt at a steal went nowhere fast as the seven-footer went up for the one-handed jam.

Holmgren finished with 25 points on 10-of-20 shooting, eight rebounds and two assists. He shot 2-of-4 from 3 and went 3-of-4 on free throws. He also had one block.

This is what Thunder fans have begged for since Holmgren arrived. He’s too talented a scorer not to take the third-most shots at worst. Too many times, he’d start strong but then slowly fade away as the game went along. Facing a depleted tanking squad serves as the best get-right medicine to boost your confidence.

Holmgren attacked often. The seven-footer found plenty of open looks around the basket thanks to his teammates. He sought his jumper. To the point that he swished in an outside look despite a Charlotte defender being right at his grill.

As Jalen Williams and others have missed time this season, Holmgren has taken advantage of a golden opportunity to have a breakout season. His pick-and-roll chemistry has improved across the board. Especially with Hartenstein. He’s been more willing to take mid-range jumpers. And the free-throw numbers are up.

All across, you have to be happy with what Holmgren has done so far this season. There’s been some downs, but he’s been a huge positive. The Thunder are nearly unstoppable when he has it going like this on both ends of the floor.

Cason Wallace: B-plus

Reading Sexton like a book, Wallace extended his arm out in the passing lane. An easy interception resulted in a two-on-one situation. He threw the ball up to a trailing Holmgren, as the seven-footer completed the alley-opp. The defense-to-offense sequence is OKC’s lifeblood.

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

Only 22 years old, Wallace continues to play like somebody you can Sharpie in as an All-Defense Team member. Considering the Curry-Doncic gauntlet he thrives in, facing Sexton must’ve felt like a nice break from the high-intensity action. Pair that with his outside shot coming around, he’s somebody that needs to continue to play starter’s minutes — one way or the other.

With Lu Dort, it was interesting to see who’d return to the bench. The Thunder found a groove with the starting lineup they’ve relied on in recent games. But either Wallace or Mitchell would return to a bench role. It turned out to be the latter, as he hopes to help out with his Sixth Man of the Year campaign.

Lu Dort: C-plus

Speaking of Dort, he returned from a five-game absence. He sustained an upper trap strain that knocked him out for a while. He didn’t let that bother him. A textbook hands-up rim contest at Sion James’ posterization attempt had both players fall to the floor.

Dort finished with three points on 1-of-4 shooting, four rebounds and one assist. He shot 1-of-2 from 3. He also had one block.

The shooting has been ice-cold to start, but Dort has earned enough leeway over the years to work through that. The NBA’s best defense added another All-Defense Team player. Considering just how talented most West teams are with at least one perimeter scorer who can drop 30 points on any night, you have to have a shutdown specialist on your team. He’s that for OKC.

With Dort back, the Thunder are only without one usual starter. That’s Williams — OKC’s other All-Defense member from last season. It’s looking like we’re on the cusp of his return from offseason wrist surgery. Once that happens, it’ll be interesting to see how they shuffle the rotation and how long it takes for them to gel.

Highlights: