MIAMI (AP) — Here's how the last few days have gone for the Oklahoma City Thunder: Lose the NBA Cup final to Milwaukee in Las Vegas on Tuesday, spend time airborne over four different time zones on Wednesday, win in Orlando on Thursday, win in Miami on Friday.
It was, even by NBA standards, a ridiculous schedule.
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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) defends Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) defends Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) and center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) celebrate during a timeout during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) blocks a drive to the basket by Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) slaps the ball away from Miami Heat guard Dru Smith (12) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith (24) defends Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
The Thunder never complained. They just played — and won. They expected nothing less. The Western Conference's best team is 22-5 after beating the Heat 104-97 on Friday night and competing a two-game, two-night Florida sweep.
“I’m almost surprised when we don’t answer the bell, no matter how difficult the challenge is," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "These guys have just made a habit of having an uncommon mindset and seeing challenges as opportunities rather than excuses.”
Nobody probably should be surprised.
In regular-season games going back to the start of the 2023-24 season, the Thunder are 79-30 overall and 35-20 on the road — both of those marks second-best in the NBA behind only Boston, the reigning league champs. They were the No. 1 seed for the Western Conference playoffs last season. They're in the No. 1 spot in the West so far this season.
“We do whatever it takes to win,” Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said.
And now, they're finally going home. Most teams, if they played in Miami and don't have the second night of a back-to-back awaiting, stay over after visiting the Heat. Not the Thunder. They just played nine out of their last 11 games in places other than Oklahoma City, and they were more than ready to head back to familiar surroundings Friday night.
“We didn't want to make any excuse,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We, I like to say, have the best jobs in the world. It sounds crazy but it's a little bit spoiled. We play basketball two nights in a row and get paid to do so. We have an amazing opportunity. We're blessed to be in this position.”
They've won seven in a row (the NBA Cup final loss doesn't count) for the second time this season. Gilgeous-Alexander is one of four players averaging more than 30 points per game so far. They're on pace for more steals than any team in the last 30 years. And they're doing it all without a single player currently older than 30.
“These guys are monsters competitively,” Daigneault said. “We've done a good job. We've been on the road nine days. We had off days in Vegas and the guys did a great job of kind of putting money in the bank there physically, so that we were ready to play and exert energy and kind of play for the long haul. They did a great job on the trip to prepare for tonight. And now we're excited to get back home.”
Jalen Williams confirmed that. The riser in the Heat postgame interview room that the Thunder were using Friday night is about 18 inches off the floor. Williams — who had a season-high 33 points against the Heat — was looking for stairs to help that not-so-big climb.
He was tired. Understandably so.
“Ready to go home,” he groaned. “You have no idea.”
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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) defends Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) defends Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) and center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) celebrate during a timeout during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) blocks a drive to the basket by Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) slaps the ball away from Miami Heat guard Dru Smith (12) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith (24) defends Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
NEW YORK (AP) — Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City on Thursday, taking over one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics as one of the country’s most-watched politicians.
Mamdani, a Democrat, was sworn in at a decommissioned subway station below City Hall just after midnight, placing his hand on a Quran as he took his oath as the city's first Muslim mayor.
“This is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani said following the brief, private ceremony.
After working part of the night in his new office, Mamdani then returned to City Hall in a taxi cab around midday Thursday for a grander public inauguration where U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of the mayor’s political heroes, was to administer the oath for a second time.
New Yorkers turned out in the frigid cold for an inauguration viewing party just south of City Hall on a stretch of Broadway known as the “Canyon of Heroes,” famous for its ticker-tape parades.
In opening remarks at the ceremony, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Mamdani would be a mayor dedicated to the working class that makes New York City run.
“It is the people of New York who have chosen historic, ambitious leadership in response to untenable and unprecedented times. New York, we have chosen courage over fear. We have chosen prosperity for the many over spoils for the few," she said.
Mamdani was accompanied on the stage by his wife, Rama Duwaji. The previous mayor, Eric Adams, was in attendance, sitting near another former mayor, Bill de Blasio.
In addition to being the city's first Muslim mayor, Mamdani is also its first of South Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa. At 34, Mamdani is also the city’s youngest mayor in generations.
In a campaign that helped make “affordability” a buzzword across the political spectrum, the democratic socialist promised to bring transformative change with policies intended to lower the cost of living in one of the world’s most expensive cities. His platform included free child care, free buses, a rent freeze for about 1 million households, and a pilot of city-run grocery stores.
But he will also have to face other responsibilities: handling trash and snow and rats, while getting blamed for subway delays and potholes.
Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, an academic and author. His family moved to New York City when he was 7, with Mamdani growing up in a post-9/11 city where Muslims didn’t always feel welcome. He became an American citizen in 2018.
He worked on political campaigns for Democratic candidates in the city before he sought public office himself, winning a state Assembly seat in 2020 to represent a section of Queens.
Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, will depart their one-bedroom, rent stabilized apartment in the outer-borough to take up residence in the stately mayoral residence in Manhattan.
Mamdani inherits a city on the upswing, after years of slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Violent crime has dropped to pre-pandemic lows. Tourists are back. Unemployment, which soared during the pandemic years, is also back to pre-COVID levels.
Yet deep concerns remain about high prices and rising rents in the city.
He’ll also have to deal with Republican President Donald Trump.
During the mayoral race, Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from the city if Mamdani won and mused about sending National Guard troops to the city.
But Trump surprised supporters and foes alike by inviting the Democrat to the White House for what ended up being a cordial meeting in November.
“I want him to do a great job and will help him do a great job,” Trump said.
Still, tensions between the two leaders are almost certain to resurface, given their deep policy disagreements, particularly over immigration.
Mamdani also faces skepticism and opposition from some members of the city’s Jewish community over his criticisms of Israel’s government.
The new mayor and his team have spent the weeks since his election victory preparing for the transition, surrounding Mamdani with seasoned hands who have worked inside or alongside city government.
That included persuading the city’s police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, to remain in her position — a move that helped calm fears in the business community that the administration might be planning radical changes in policing strategy.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right, greets New York Attorney General Letitia James before the swearing-in ceremony for Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, left, and his wife Rama Duwaji, arrive for Mamdani's public swearing-in ceremony on the steps of City Hall, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
New York Attorney General Letitia James, left, prepare to administer the oath of office to mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani takes the oath of office during a swearing-in ceremony in the Old City Hall subway station, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Zohran Mamdani reacts after being sworn in as mayor of New York inside the the Old City Hall subway station, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks after taking the oath of office, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Attorney General Letitia James left, prepares to administer the oath of office to mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani as Rama Duwaji, looks on, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, center, arrives with his wife Rama Duwaji for a swearing-in ceremony, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Attorney General Letitia James, left, administers the oath of office to mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, center, as his wife Rama Duwaji looks on, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
