Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Houston Rockets 125-124

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Houston Rockets 125-124 in triple overtime on Tuesday to begin their NBA title defence. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points and made the game-winning free throws in the closing seconds. With 2.3 seconds left, the reigning NBA and NBA Finals MVP got a vital foul before coolly making both free throws to defeat the Rockets, who were strengthened by newcomers Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun.

The Thunder earlier in the evening gave players diamond-encrusted rings as a way to commemorate their historic first NBA championship. Sengun and Durant, however, kept Houston in control for extended periods of time as the Rockets pushed Oklahoma City to the brink despite the celebrations. The Thunder rallied late in the fourth quarter after falling behind by 12 points in the third quarter. Durant gave Houston a 104-102 lead before Gilgeous-Alexander's pull-up with three seconds left knotted the game and forced overtime.