SGA, Thunder Wow NBA Fans with 2OT Thriller vs. Durant, Rockets to Start Title Defense

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder started their title defense with a double-overtime win over the Houston Rockets.

The new-look Rockets with Kevin Durant in the lineup gave OKC all it could handle, but SGA and Co. had an answer for everything down the stretch.

Gilgeous-Alexander took over in the fourth quarter and both overtime periods to finish with 35 points.

Houston battled with OKC thanks in part to an incredible performance from Alperen Sengun.

The Turkish big man had 39 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to overshadow Kevin Durant's Rockets debut.

Durant was far less active than SGA was in the overtime periods. Durant also appeared to call a timeout at the end of overtime when the Rockets did not have any timeouts left. No call was made on the floor and the game went to a second extra period.

SGA got the best of KD in the first head-to-head battle between the Rockets and Thunder. The don't play again until January 15.

The games won't get any easier for OKC at the start of its title defense. The Thunder have to go up to Indianapolis for an NBA Finals rematch with the Indiana Pacers on Thursday before they visit the Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks.