Houston Rockets @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Tuesday, October 21, 2025 at 7:30 PM ET
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK | Game ID: 22500001
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT1 OT2 Final
OKC 27 24 24 29 11 10 125HOU 30 27 22 25 11 9 124
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Thunder celebrate ring ceremony, banner unveiling and double-OT win over Durant's Rockets
OKLAHOMA CITY -- — Thunder fans got everything they wanted on Tuesday — a ring ceremony, a championship banner unveiling and a win over ex-Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets .
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , the reigning MVP, hit two free throws with 2.3 seconds remaining in the second overtime to give the Thunder a 125-124 win. It was just the sixth time an opening night went to double overtime and the first time since 2005.
Gilgeous-Alexander, last season’s scoring champion, had just five points at halftime but finished with 35.
Thunder fans still haven’t forgiven Durant for leaving the Thunder in 2016 to join the Golden State Warriors , their biggest rival at the time. Durant had 23 points and nine rebounds in his first game with Houston after being traded in the offseason. He was booed loudly during pregame starter introductions, and that continued for much of the game.
Durant fouled Gilgeous-Alexander with the Rockets leading 124-123 in the second extra period. The crowd cheered as Durant exited the game with his sixth personal foul. Gilgeous-Alexander made both free throws for the decisive points. Houston's Jabari Smith Jr. missed a 19-foot jumper as time expired, and the Thunder survived in the season opener for both teams.
Chet Holmgren added 28 points and seven rebounds for the Thunder. Ajay Mitchell added 16 points, including a four-point play with one second left in the first half.
Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams , a first-time All-Star last season, sat out as he continues to recover from a right wrist injury he sustained last season. He had surgery on July 1, and coach Mark Daigneault said he is “progressing.”
Alperen Sengun had 39 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Rockets. He made a career-high five 3-pointers.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s short jumper with 2.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter tied the game at 104. Sengun missed a fadeaway at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
With the score tied at 115 in the closing seconds of the first overtime, Gilgeous-Alexander missed and Durant rebounded and tried to call a timeout that the Rockets didn’t have. The Thunder noticed and tried to alert the officials, but no call was made and the game went to a second overtime. Crew chief Zach Zarba said after the game that none of the three officials saw Durant call the timeout, so it was not granted.
Up next The Rockets visit the Detroit Pistons on Friday.
The Thunder visit the Indiana Pacers on Thursday in a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals series the Thunder won in seven games.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
HOUAS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
CC C. Capela
JO J. Okogie
JS J. Smith Jr.
KD K. Durant
RS R. Sheppard
SA S. Adams
TE T. Eason
OKCAC A. Caruso
AM A. Mitchell
AW A. Wiggins
CH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
IH I. Hartenstein
JW J. Williams
LD L. Dort
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
HOU/OKC the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur