OKC’s ‘easy’ secret to shutting down Tyrese Makeia after big first half

OKLAHOMA CITY — After leading the way Philadelphia 76ers with 23 points on 8-for-10 shooting in the first half, All-Star Tyrese McKay scored five points on 2-for-8 attempts in the second half Oklahoma City ThunderIt won 129-104 on Sunday. Holmgren gave one of his better performances season, finished with 29 points on 12-for-17 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, nine rebounds and four blocks against the 76ers.

However, Thunder head coach Mark Daigno addressed the drastic change in his team’s defense, focusing on Maxey’s approach as his team clung to a two-point lead (64-62) in the second half of Sunday’s 25-point victory.

“First of all, he’s a really good player. So sometimes really good players have their way, and that was the case in the first half,” Daigneault said. “But I think it was pressure and help. And even then, he made a left-handed layup toward the end and it was a joke — it was a hell of a shot. Really good players are going to do that. They’re going to do that.”

“But what prevents big nights is taking away the easy stuff, and we didn’t do that very well in the first half. We did a much better job in the second half.”

Tyrese Maxey’s 28 points led seven 76ers in double figures, including Quentin Grimes (13 points), who led the bench in production, and Paul George, who scored a dozen points on 4-of-11 shooting. The 76ers finished with a whopping 23 turnovers as Oklahoma City’s defense was largely stifled in the second half.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 27 points on 10-for-13 shooting, five assists and two steals in the win. Aaron Wiggins’ 15 points led the way for the second unit, along with Ajay Mitchell (13 points), who returned from concussion protocol. Jalen Williams added 14 points, six assists and two steals.

Chet Holmgren on how the Thunder flipped a switch against the 76ers

Thunder forward Chet Holmgren addressed his team’s defense in the second half of Sunday’s win against the 76ers. In the return performance after Thunder’s two straight losses to the Spursthe defending champions are back in the win column.

After the win, Holmgren discussed the contrast in the Thunder’s defense between the first and second half during his media availability after the game.

“I think we were able to get our stuff into the game — they played with a lot of tempo in the first half — we weren’t able to contain it very well, and we did a better job of that in the second half,” Holmgren said. “That allowed us to play our half-court defense, which no matter what team you are, is going to be better than your transition defense. So we just had to pick that up, and then it followed.”

Chet Holmgren explains the difference between the Thunder’s defensive approach in the first half versus the second pic.twitter.com/IOtCIpRNar

— Joshua Pavon (@joe_svai) December 28, 2025

The Thunder will host the Hawks for the second night of back-to-back games at the Pike Center on Tuesday.