Usually playing within the flow of the offense, Isaiah Hartenstein had the chance to experience what an NBA superstar stomachs every night. Aware of his career night, all of his teammates kept pointing to him to either post up deep in the paint or set a pick-and-roll.
Hartenstein showed why most fans beg him to be a little more selfish. He finished with a career-high 33 points on 14-of-17 shooting, 19 rebounds and three assists. He shot 5-of-6 on free throws. He also had three blocks and a steal.
The Oklahoma City Thunder enjoyed a 132-101 win over the Sacramento Kings. They start the 2025 NBA Cup group play with a 1-0 record and a cushy 31-point differential in West’s Group A.
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Cutting to the basket, Hartenstein’s last bucket was being fed a dunk by Ajay Mitchell. The seven-footer was a machine on the boards, too. He grabbed 19 rebounds. The Kings didn’t have the size to box him out on their misses. He finished a board shy of a classic 30-20 game, but you can’t complain too badly.
«He made a few really night plays individually. He did what he did every night at a very high level. I think the ball and energy rewarded him,» Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said about Hartenstein. «He was open on a lot of rolls and lobs and stuff like that. Just really good. He does a really good job of doing the little things to get people open. And then the defense reacts and he gets open. He does that at a really high level, which is why he had 100 dunks tonight.»
What a career night for Hartenstein. It sparked an online conversation that the Thunder have to find a way to keep him around for the long-term future. That’s not a prisoner-of-the-moment opinion, either. Since he joined OKC, he’s been a double-double machine. Find any financial loopholes you can, but most have shifted into the camp of keeping him around beyond this year.
«I think we have a great group of guys that play together. You see each night, someone else steps up and I think that’s because we trust one another. Even Zai had some great nights before, Ajay. You know what you get out of Shai,» Hartenstein said. «I think that’s what makes it special. Any given night, someone can step up. I think tonight was just my night.»
