The Oklahoma City Thunder, the NBA’s reigning champions, won their opening night fixture 125-124 in a nail-biting finish that went into double overtime against the Houston Rockets. The game would not have gone into double overtime if the officials had not made a mistake in the final seconds of the game, as Kevin Durant’s blunder may have cost the Rockets the game at the end of the first overtime.
During his post-game press conference, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander addressed this moment with the Thunder media as claimed that while the officials made a mistake, it was not the officials’ fault.
“Yeah, Kevin definitely tried to call a timeout about three times, verbally and physically with his hands. I think the refs just missed it, but that’s life. You make mistakes in life, and you move on. Nothing too crazy about it.”
“I turned the ball over a bunch tonight and focused on the next possession. So, same mentality for them. I don’t think they didn’t do it on purpose or anything. It’s just it’s life, you know. You miss things, you make mistakes, and you move on,” said the reigning Finals MVP.
Grabbing a rebound with less than three seconds on the clock after the final shot of the first overtime, Durant tried to call a timeout so that the Rockets could advance the ball. The 37-year-old veteran did not realize that the Rockets were out of timeouts. Fortunately for him at the time, the officials did not see his signal, even though he had the ball and was signaling very vividly for a timeout.
KD TRIED TO CALL A TIMEOUT BUT THE ROCKETS DIDN’T HAVE ANY.
BUT THE REFS DIDN’T CALL IT.
Would’ve resulted in OKC free throws for the win. pic.twitter.com/oVDncndygb
— The Sports Place (@offsportsplace) October 22, 2025
Fans gave Durant hell about it on social media, and the veteran even blamed himself for the Rockets’ loss. The second overtime ended with another blunder from Durant as Gilgeous-Alexander drew a foul with less than three seconds left in the game to take the lead. Durant fouled out of the game, and Gilgeous-Alexander calmly iced the game from the free-throw line.
“I was just looking for space to get off a comfortable shot that I’m comfortable shooting. I turned and was about to shoot it. But I think he thought I was going to shoot it as well, and he left his feet, and I saw an opportunity to take advantage of it and worked in our favor,” said Gilgeous-Alexander while explaining how he drew the final foul on Durant.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers for the Thunder with 35 points, but he also stuffed the box score with five assists, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Despite shooting one-of-nine (11%) from beyond the arc on a night that began slowly, he came up clutch for the Thunder to take them over the finishing line.
If not for the multiple errors, one would also describe Durant’s game as solid on the opening night in his regular-season debut for the Rockets. He finished the game with 23 points, nine rebounds, and three assists.
After the games, the official crew chief Zach Zarba reportedly admitted that none of the three officials saw Durant call for a timeout, and hence they did not stop the play. Thus, they believed they were still fair to not grant the technical foul as there was no stoppage of play.
Had the Rockets won this game, I am fairly certain this incident would not have received such a calm response from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But it’s good to see that he’s taking the gentleman’s route instead of cursing the officials for their mistake.
