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The NBA 2025-2026 regular season kicked off on a fiery note at the Paycom Center, Oklahoma City. Houston Rockets locked horns with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the opening game. Both teams tied the score at the buzzer, 104-104 and went into overtime twice.
However, it was the reigning champions who had the final laugh in the game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander once again led the Thunder to a stunning win. Here are the box score, player stats, game summary and everything you need to know about the game held on Tuesday, October 21, 2025.
Houston Rockets box score and player stats
| PLAYER | MIN | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | +/- |
| Jabari Smith Jr. SF | 41:45:00 | 7 | 15 | 46.7 | 2 | 6 | 33.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 2 |
| Alperen Sengun PF | 48:53:00 | 12 | 24 | 50 | 5 | 8 | 62.5 | 10 | 11 | 90.9 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 39 | 9 |
| Steven Adams C | 36:30:00 | 1 | 4 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 100 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Kevin Durant SG | 47:03:00 | 9 | 16 | 56.3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 83.3 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 0 |
| Amen Thompson PG | 38:36:00 | 8 | 17 | 47.1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 100 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 18 | -11 |
| Tari Eason | 21:36 | 1 | 6 | 16.7 | 1 | 4 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | -4 |
| Reed Sheppard | 27:47:00 | 3 | 11 | 27.3 | 2 | 7 | 28.6 | 1 | 2 | 50 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| Clint Capela | 07:52 | 1 | 1 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Josh Okogie | 19:58 | 1 | 3 | 33.3 | 1 | 3 | 33.3 | 5 | 6 | 83.3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | -8 |
| TOTALS | 43 | 97 | 44.3 | 11 | 39 | 28.2 | 27 | 31 | 87.1 | 16 | 35 | 72 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 21 | 26 | 124 |
Houston Rockets game summary
Alperen Sengun led the Houston Rockets in putting up a tough competition for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The game went into overtime. Sengun, with his impressive dunks, scored 39 points with 11 rebounds and 7 assists.
Kevin Durant closed his performance in the first game, scoring 23 points with 9 rebounds and 3 assists.
The atmosphere at the stadium turned into an intense one. While the first extension was forced by the Thunder team with Shai-Gilgeous’ dunk, Alperen pushed the game into its second overtime with an impressive last-minute score. Seems he is hyped for the rest of the season. Fans can expect some impressive performances from the player.
The Rockets, despite the defeat, proved that there is a new contender for the previous champions within the Western Conference.
Oklahoma City Thunder box score and player stats
| PLAYER | MIN | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | +/- |
| Luguentz Dort SF | 45:15:00 | 2 | 12 | 16.7 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 100 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| Chet Holmgren PF | 38:30:00 | 11 | 17 | 64.7 | 2 | 5 | 40 | 4 | 4 | 100 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 28 | -1 |
| Isaiah Hartenstein C | 36:51:00 | 2 | 5 | 40 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 100 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 9 |
| Cason Wallace SG | 41:39:00 | 5 | 10 | 50 | 3 | 8 | 37.5 | 1 | 2 | 50 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 8 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander PG | 47:13:00 | 12 | 26 | 46.2 | 1 | 9 | 11.1 | 10 | 14 | 71.4 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 35 | 3 |
| Jaylin Williams | 12:53 | 1 | 5 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -3 |
| Aaron Wiggins | 20:32 | 4 | 8 | 50 | 2 | 5 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 |
| Alex Caruso | 30:11:00 | 3 | 9 | 33.3 | 2 | 6 | 33.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | -15 |
| Brooks Barnhizer | 02:15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| Chris Youngblood | 00:06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ajay Mitchell | 14:36 | 6 | 12 | 50 | 3 | 6 | 50 | 1 | 1 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 2 |
| Ousmane Dieng | DNP - Coach's Decision | |||||||||||||||||||
| TOTALS | 46 | 104 | 44.2 | 13 | 52 | 25 | 20 | 25 | 80 | 12 | 27 | 50 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 27 | 125 |
Oklahoma City Thunder game summary
The reigning champions proved it once again. Despite the tough challenge from the Houston Rockets, the Oklahoma City Thunder emerged as the winner. In the game, the Thunder proved their ability to turn the tables even if it was a last-minute thing. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team to its first regular-season victory.
He racked up a score of 35 points with 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Chet Holmgren accompanied the 2025 NBA MVP by adding 28 points to the final score. Shai-Gilgeous drew a foul on Kevin Durant in the second half. This proved to be a turning point as the Thunder star scored the winning dunk of the game. It was, however, a close win for the reigning champions. Also Read: “Boo to you too, motha-----” — Kevin Durant turns Oklahoma City Thunder’s boos into banter during Houston Rockets’ opener
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