While the Oklahoma City Thunder's historically great defense has struggled lately, Ben Pfeifer explains why there's no reason to be concerned.

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault recently said his double-big lineup featuring Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein is still a work in progress, but the early returns are encouraging.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points, Chet Holmgren had 22 points and 17 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rebounded from a stunning collapse with a game-changing blitz in the fourth quarter to beat the Brooklyn Nets 129-121.

Holmgren was out for the team's latest contest against the San Antonio Spurs, though he's set to return on the second night of the back-to-back. The last time Holmgren and Hartenstein were both active, the Thunder staggered the two more. Daigneault opted to start Holmgren and bring Hartenstein off the bench.

Portland made a push in the final quarter, narrowing the deficit to 93-88 with free throws from Anfernee Simons. However, the Thunder responded with a banked 3-pointer by Williams, extending their lead to 96-88. Sunday is the first of back-to-back games with the Nuggets. Sunday's start time is 12:00

Jalen Williams had a career-high 41 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 31 and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat San Antonio 146-132 on Sunday night, spoiling the Spurs’ homecoming following a momentous road trip.