Marc Daigneault’s second-half comeback high against the Kings

OKLAHOMA CITY — Head coach Mark Daigneault and defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder erased a 10-point second-half deficit in Tuesday’s 107-101 win against Sacramento Kings to remain unbeaten in the first five games of the 2025-26 season. The The Thunder were without starting forward Chet Holmgrenwho joined a long list of injuries that included All-Star Jalen Williams, Isaiah Joe and Kenrich Williams.

All three Thunder players have yet to make their regular season debut. Still, Oklahoma City remains undefeated. Daigeanult praised Aaron Wiggins (18 points, six assists, three blocks), who got the nod in the starting lineup in place of Williams, Ajay Mitchell (18 points, two steals) to lift off the bench and the rest of the Thunder’s supporting cast.

“The biggest thing is to expose guys to different situations and encourage critical thinking in different ways, whether it’s in practice or on film, because ultimately (there’s) not enough time to make every decision,” Daigneault said. “So it’s about preparing the team to think on the fly. Recognize patterns and recognize situations, and this team has been in that process for a long time, and we’ve been in a lot of those games, and we’ve handled those things well.”

“Habits at this point in the season that we have to improve. We’re certainly not the finished product through five games, but tonight we generally had a good performance in those situations.”

Mark Daigneault on Thunder’s late-game performance against Kings: “The biggest thing is exposing guys to different situations, encouraging critical thinking in different ways…

It’s about preparing the team to think on the fly. Recognize patterns and recognize situations” pic.twitter.com/tveET5IzEA

— Joshua Pavon (@joe_svai) October 29, 2025

Four Thunder players scored in double figures, including All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s team-leading 31 points. Lou Dort added 13 points, five rebounds and two steals as Oklahoma City used an 11-4 run to shut out the Kings in their toughest win since the Thunder’s two double-overtime victories to open the regular season.

Isaiah Hartenstein on the Thunder’s luxury in Ajay Mitchell

Thunder forward Isaiah Hartenstein sees significant growth in Ajay Mitchellwho emerged as one of head coach Marc Daigneault’s weapons off the bench. Through the first five games of the regular season, Mitchell is averaging 18.7 points, 4.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.

For Hartenstein, Mitchell’s maturity always stood out the most. He addressed it before facing the Kings. Maturity, along with Ajay’s approach to the game, says Hartenstein he is not surprised let’s see a 2024 second-round pick have such a strong start to the regular season.

“I think he’s just very mature. I think that’s what I’ve seen from day one. I think that’s the luxury you get when you pick a guy that’s a little bit older,” Hartenstein said. “He’s got confidence. He doesn’t shy away from the game. He approaches the game the right way, and I think that’s why you see how comfortable he is right now.”

The Thunder will host the Wizards on Thursday.