THUNDER WIRE Diagnosing the defense, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander threw a bullet pass to Alex Caruso underneath the rim. The basketball stayed in his hands for less than a second as a touch pass found Jalen Williams for the corner 3-pointer. The dagger shot capped off an unprecedented travel schedule for OKC with a Florida sweep.

No meat was left on the bone in this brutal back-to-back. The Oklahoma City Thunder collected a 104-97 win over the Miami Heat. This came a day after a similar victory over the Orlando Magic.

“These guys are monsters competi t i v e l y , ” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “We’ve been on the road for nine days. We had off days in Vegas. The guys did a great job of putting money in the bank there physically. We were ready to play and exert energy and play it for the long haul. They did a great job not only tonight but for the trip to prepare for tonight.”

The Thunder held a 30-25 lead after the first quarter. Facing a Heat squad fresh off a fourday break, Jimmy Butler’s early exit with an illness helped even the odds the rest of the way. OKC held a slight 50-47 halftime advantage.

Despite Butler’s absence, the Heat had a hot start to the second half. Jaime Jaquez Jr. drew a foul and nailed both free throws to finish a quick 10-0 run. Miami retook the lead and flipped the score to 59-58 in its favor. Its momentum only lasted for mere seconds. OKC responded with a 10-0 run of its own. That was part of a larger 31-point third quarter that saw OKC create an 81-70 lead entering the fourth frame.

The fourth quarter was closer to boring than dramatized. Both teams exchanged buckets. The closest Miami would get was within five points, but Butler’s absence was painfully felt. Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo tried to run the offense but failed to stay consistent. And even when they hit on their attempts, the Thunder answered right back.

Gilgeous-Alexander had a monster third quarter and then passed the baton to Williams in the fourth quarter. OKC’s star duo took over in the second half to close out this improbable victory. The two All-Star-esque players combined for 58 points.

The Thunder shot 45% from the field and went 14-of-34 (41.2%) from 3. They went 12-of-17 from the free-throw line. They had 24 assists on 39 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Williams led the way with a season-high 33 points. Gilgeous-Alexander aided with 25 points. Hartenstein recorded another double-double. Lu Dort had 14 points and went 4-of-5 from 3.

Meanwhile, the Heat shot 43% from the field and went 12-of-40 (30%) from 3. They went 13-of-20 from the free-throw line. They had 20 assists on 36 baskets. Four Heat players scored double-digit points. Herro had all the shots he could take. He finished with 28 points on 11-of-24 shooting, 12 rebounds and five assists. Adebayo had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Duncan Robinson and Dru Smith scored 13 points respec tively. One team entered a third road game in four nights while the other entered after nearly a week off. It’d be hard to believe which was which after that performance. The Thunder flipped a scheduled loss into an impromptu win. OKC escaped the logistical nightmare of the NBA Cup finals and left Florida with two all-business wins. These mini-stretches separate the title contenders from the rest of the pack.

“That’s a really hard team to defend from an energy standpoint because you really have to be in their pocket,” Daigneault said. “They have shooters everywhere. They really strain your communication defensively because they’re constantly back-screening and sliding out of screens. They’re very difficult to guard, they require a ton of focus. I thought we did that.”

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 25 points on 10-of-25 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists. He shot 3-of-9 from 3 and went 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.

After a hot start with 10 first-quarter points, Gilgeous- Alexander struggled against Miami’s funky zone defense. That’s been an Achilles heel for him and continued this year. He snapped out of it with a 13-point third frame. The usual drive-heavy scorer was jumper-happy against the Heat. Zone defenses can’t account for purely difficult shot-making.

Jalen Williams finished with 33 points on 12-of-25 shooting, six rebounds and four assists. He shot 4-of-7 from 3 and went 5-of-7 from the free-throw line.

Like Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams relied more on his jumper than drives to the basket. Miami’s defense tends to force that. Its plan failed as the 23-year-old got into a rhythm. He was dominant throughout the entire contest.