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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A look at the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder through 25 games, after their rout of the Phoenix Suns in the Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday night:
Record-tying record
At 24-1, the Thunder have tied the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors for the best 25-game start in NBA history. The Warriors were 24-0 that season before falling in Game 25.
Golden State wound up winning 29 of its first 30 games that season, and 36 of its first 38.
Winning margin
The Thunder are even more dominant this season than they were last season — when they posted the biggest scoring margin in NBA history at 12.9 points per game.
Wednesday’s 138-89 rout of Phoenix in the NBA Cup quarterfinals lifted the Thunder scoring differential this season to 17.5 points per game — by far the biggest margin the league has seen through 25 games. Boston outscored opponents by an average of 13.9 points through the first 25 games of the 2007-08 season.
Lots of blowouts
Wednesday’s win was Oklahoma City’s 17th by 10 or more points this season. That ties for the second-most through 25 games ever; Boston had 19 double-digit wins in the first 25 games in 2007-08.
The Thunder became the first franchise to have that many double-digit wins this early in back-to-back seasons. They also had 17 such wins in the first 25 games of last season.
Biggest lead
Chris Youngblood’s 3-pointer with 5:25 left in the fourth quarter Wednesday night gave the Thunder a 128-78 lead — the first time a team led by 50 points in the NBA this season.
Oklahoma City would go on to lead by as many as 53.
The Thunder’s biggest lead in a regular-season game last season was 44 points. They did have leads of 49 and 56 in playoff games on their way to last season’s title.
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