Thunder, Heat each working to find ‘better version’ of themselves

The Oklahoma City Thunder hope they're turning a corner after a rough stretch.

Heading into their home game on Sunday against the Miami Heat, Thunder star Jalen Williams said he felt like the team had learned some lessons. They have won two consecutive games, coming out of their recent 6-6 stretch after an unbelievable 24-1 start. Oklahoma City still has the best record in the NBA.

"We almost got a little comfortable in a way where you're just beating teams and expecting to win and we didn't have, I would say, enough humility or humbleness going about how we were winning the games," Williams said. "... I don't think we were going about the process the right way the last couple games."

That discomfort with the approach extended into an overtime win on Wednesday over Utah and then through a big part of a 117-116 win on Friday in Memphis.

Oklahoma City fell behind by 21 early in the third quarter before clawing back to win.

"I think we did a really good job of getting back to who we are," Williams said of the way the Thunder closed that victory.

Oklahoma City pulled off that victory without a trio of starters, including reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, who is making a push for what would be his first All-Star appearance.

Both are expected to play Sunday, while Isaiah Hartenstein (calf) remains sidelined for the eighth consecutive game.

The Thunder will have key reserve Jaylin Williams available for the first time since Dec. 13 after he missed 13 games with heel bursitis.

The Thunder-Heat matchup will showcase two of the best defenses in the league.

Oklahoma City leads the NBA with a 105.4 defensive rating -- points allowed per 100 possessions -- while Miami is fourth at 111.8.

"They play defense," Williams said of the Heat. "They play defense how we do. They're physical, they play hard. Everybody out there is prideful about defense and that speaks a lot to that organization."

Miami hasn't beaten Oklahoma City since January 2023, but the Heat haven't made it easy on the Thunder.

"The bar with that team is very high," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "It's a great team to test yourself against. I love when we play against them because it's a game that you have to earn if you get it; if you don't, they'll teach you a lesson."

Sunday's game is the first of two between the teams this season, with the other coming in just six days in Miami.

The Heat have lost back-to-back games to start their three-game road trip, including a 123-99 loss to the Pacers on Saturday.

Miami will be looking for a better start, after falling behind 36-12 just 10 minutes into the loss at Indiana.

"We want to get back out there," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, "but we want to have a better version of ourselves in terms of mentality, passion, connectivity, all that stuff that's put us in position to win games this year."

The Heat are still looking to find some cohesiveness among the starters after two games since the return of Tyler Herro from an extended absence due to an injury to his right big toe.

"We've got to keep working at it," Herro said. "... We all want to make it work. We've just got to make it work."