Image Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Hawks vs Thunder: Three Key Takeaways as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren’s Combined 61 Points Lead Oklahoma City to Third Straight Win

The OKC Thunder are 3-0 in the 2025-26 NBA season.

Image Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder extended their winning streak to three games and handed a 117-100 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks. Chet Holmgren led the Thunder with 31 points, 12 rebounds, and one assist, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 30 points, with four rebounds, and five assists. Apart from them, Isaiah Hartenstein and Ajay Mitchell came up with 14 points each as the reigning champions paved their way through to another victory in the 2025-26 NBA season.

The Hawks, on the other hand, put up combined efforts, but none of their players managed to cross the 20-point mark. Nickel Alexander-Walker led the hosts with 17 points, three rebounds, and two assists while Trae Young posted 15 points, four rebounds, and 10 assists. Vit Crejci came up with 13 points, Asa Newell dropped 12 points, while Mouhamed Gueye and Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 11 points, each.

SGA & Chet combine for 61 POINTS in OKC's win!@ChetHolmgren: 31 PTS, 12 REB, 6-8 3PM@shaiglalex: 30 PTS, 12-17 FGM

⚡️ Thunder move to 3-0 to start the season ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/8OVtH7R8ST
— NBA (@NBA) October 26, 2025

The three key takeaways from Saturday-night clash between the Atlanta Hawks and the Oklahoma City Thunder are:

OKC Thunder’s Resilience Despite Fatigue

The Oklahoma City Thunder, who became the first team in NBA history to begin its season with two double-overtime games, have demonstrated remarkable endurance. Despite their taxing schedule and a depleted roster, the Thunder stole a win at State Farm Arena and improved their record to 3-0. It highlights their depth and ability to perform under pressure even with key players injured.

Shining Depth of the Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a total of eight players listed on their injury report ahead of the Saturday-night fixture against the Atlanta Hawks. While Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace were later upgraded to available, many other important players were still missing from the lineup. However, despite that, the Thunder relied on their bench players and maintained their firepower to average 127.3 points per game earlier in the season.

Atlanta Hawk’s Struggles with Consistency

The Atlanta Hawks began their season with a 20-point defeat at the hands of the Toronto Raptors. While they managed to bounce back by defeating the Orlando Magic with a slight margin, the Hawks failed to keep up with the momentum and fell to another defeat in the third game. On Saturday, while they showed offensive potential, their shooting struggles were pretty evident. In their previous game against the Magic, they shot 48.2% from the field and 75% from the free-throw line. However, the stats fell to 41.2% from the field on Saturday and 66.7% from the free-throw line.

Atlanta Hawks

Oklahoma City Thunder

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.