Nets Vs Thunder: Thunder 105, Nets 86 as McCain Scores Season-High 21
The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Brooklyn Nets 105-86 in a game that highlighted a short-handed Thunder bench stepping up and Brooklyn’s shooting struggles. Nets Vs Thunder matters for standings and momentum: the Thunder improved to 43-14 while the Nets dropped to 15-40.
Development details — Nets Vs Thunder
Oklahoma City won 105-86. Jared McCain, acquired in a trade this month, scored a season-high 21 points off the bench, making 7 of 12 field-goal attempts and 3 of 6 from long range. The Thunder’s balanced scoring included Chet Holmgren with 15 points, Isaiah Joe with 11, and both Isaiah Hartenstein and Lu Dort contributing 10 points each. On the Brooklyn side, Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 22 points and Nolan Traore added 17.
Brooklyn shot 36. 7% from the field for the game and suffered its third straight loss. Oklahoma City’s record moved to 43-14 while Brooklyn’s fell to 15-40.
Context and escalation
The Thunder entered the game short-handed, with injuries affecting key players. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was listed with an abdominal strain and Jalen Williams with a strained right hamstring; both are scheduled for re-evaluation in the coming weeks. Those absences placed greater responsibility on reserves and role players, a gap that McCain and others filled.
Game flow shifted decisively in the second quarter. Oklahoma City trailed 23-21 after the first, then opened the second with a run that produced a 38-26 edge. Brooklyn went 8 1/2 minutes of the second quarter without a field goal, converting just 3-for-17 in the period, and scored 10 points in the quarter — the fewest allowed in a half by the Thunder this season and a season low for a Thunder opponent.
Immediate impact
The immediate consequence was a commanding halftime cushion: Oklahoma City led 50-33 at the break, a margin built on stifling defense and Brooklyn’s protracted scoring drought. Dort was fouled on a made 3-pointer with 2: 18 left in the second quarter and made the ensuing free throw to extend the Thunder lead to 43-30, underscoring how a handful of possessions widened the gap.
Nikola Topic, who recently made his NBA debut after undergoing treatment, contributed offensively during a later 7-3 run — hitting a 3-pointer and a finger roll — that helped push the Thunder to an 86-70 advantage. On the Nets’ end, the 36. 7% team shooting and the stretch without a field goal in the second quarter translated directly into a deficit they were unable to overcome.
Forward outlook
The teams leave this game with clear near-term markers. Oklahoma City’s record stands at 43-14; Brooklyn sits at 15-40. The Thunder will monitor the recovery timelines for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams as both are due for re-evaluation in the coming weeks, a development that shapes rotation decisions and minutes distribution. For Brooklyn, the immediate focus will be correcting the shooting slide that produced a three-game losing streak and a 36. 7% performance from the field in this matchup.
What makes this notable is how the Thunder absorbed personnel losses and redistributed production across the roster, turning a short-handed lineup into a collective performance that produced a 19-point victory. The timing matters because the pending re-evaluations on injured players will determine whether the current bench-driven formula is temporary or becomes a longer-term blueprint.
