The Thunder are winning a ton of games, again. They don't let wins, or losses, faze them much

MIAMI (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder should have been angry.

It was Saturday night. They had just lost to the Miami Heat 122-120. It was a game that saw Shai Gilgeous-Alexander get called for a crucial offensive foul with 1:14 remaining (the NBA said a day later it wasn't a foul), the Thunder waste a 12-point lead and referees missing a backcourt violation on Heat guard Norman Powell in the final seconds.

Their postgame reaction — the outward one, anyway — could be summed up thusly: Well, darn.

The defending NBA champions are winning far more often than they lose; a victory in Cleveland on Monday pushed Oklahoma City's record to 36-8, the best in the league by a wide margin. The Thunder don't get too riled up after wins, they don't get too flustered after losses. They know what matters the most is what's coming in April, May and June, and if they can find lessons along the way to sharpen their toolkits, that's what matters.

“Going through the playoff runs, we’ve been on the scene now for a little bit of time, enough time to be exposed to it and I think the guys have kind of learned the nature of that through the playoffs, really," coach Mark Daigneault said. "It’s a series, you win the game, and everybody on the outside is going to talk about how it was a foregone conclusion that you won and that you’re going to run away with the series. And then the minute you lose a game, it’s the opposite. I think when you’re exposed to that enough, you learn not to trust it.”

The Thunder started the season 24-1, then dropped four of their next six and six of their next 12. For a couple of weeks — gasp! — they looked vulnerable. They lost to San Antonio three times, including in the NBA Cup semifinals. Talk of “the Thunder could break the NBA wins record” became talk of “what's wrong with the Thunder” almost overnight.

They're 6-1 since, the one loss in Miami by exactly two points.

“To have those ‘problems...’" Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, clearly breaking out the sarcasm about OKC's perceived slump. "Yeah, I think the biggest compliment you can give them — and the thing that just stuns me — is how they can sustain that kind of success and have that kind of success with a young roster. Usually, there’s some kind of agenda with young players. And that’s fine.”

The only agenda seems to be winning.

The Thunder are outscoring teams by 13.5 points per game this season, which is ahead of their NBA-record pace of 12.9 per game set last season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — an All-Star starter, again — is the runaway favorite to repeat as the league's MVP; sure, part of that is given the expectation that Denver's Nikola Jokic may fall short of the league's minimum-games requirement to be eligible for such awards, but Gilgeous-Alexander's averages of nearly 32 points and just over six assists per game are certainly MVP-discussion worthy. They're an NBA-best 20-2 at home and an NBA-best 16-5 on the road (the NBA Cup game was neutral site).

“We trust our process,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We trust our development.”

It worked for them last year. Even with a “slump” this year, it's working for them again. They've managed to be unfazed by the noise, whether it's good or bad. They're boring in that sense, in the best possible way.

“It’s not that you don’t hear it. We don’t block it out. We can’t block it out," Daigneault said when asked about expectations. "It’s the nature of the questions you get asked. It’s in your face constantly. It’s more about, ‘Can you contextualize it and can you maintain perspective with it?’ And we’ve got a team kind of preconditioned to be pretty neutral.

"We try to maintain that environmentally around them with our approach and with the approach that they come in with every single day. But we’ve also got guys that have a pretty healthy emotional thing that doesn’t really go too high or low.”

Around The NBA analyzes the biggest topics in the NBA during the season.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault gestures to his players during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, left, laughs while talking with center Chet Holmgren, right, in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, left, dribbles ahead of Cleveland Cavaliers guard Craig Porter Jr., right, in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday that Mexico sent 37 cartel members to United States at the request of the Justice Department, but insisted it was a “sovereign decision” by Mexico.

Sheinbaum responded to claims by analysts and opponents who said the transfers carried out the previous day were the result of mounting pressure from Washington as President Donald Trump has threatened to take military action on cartels.

Speaking at her regular morning news briefing, Sheinbaum said that although the transfers were made at the request of the U.S. government, the decision was taken by the National Security Council after analyzing what was “convenient for Mexico” and in terms of its “national security.”

“Mexico is put first above all else, even if they ask for whatever they have to ask for. It is a sovereign decision,” she added.

Sheinbaum, who has been praised for her level-headed management of relations with Trump, has been forced to walk a fine line between making concessions to the U.S. government and projecting strength both domestically and internationally.

Observers say the Mexican government has used the transfers as a sort of pressure valve to offset demands by Trump and show authorities are cracking down on criminal groups. Tension has only mounted since the U.S. carried out a military operation in Venezuela and deposed of then-President Nicolás Maduro in an extraordinary use of force that set leaders across Latin America on edge.

The Justice Department on Wednesday said in a statement to the Associated Press said that Mexico working with the U.S. was in the mutual interest of both countries.

“This is an important step taken by Mexican authorities and we look forward to continuing to work with them in the protection and defense of our region,” the statement added.

Those sent to the U.S. on Tuesday were alleged members of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel, which Washington has designated as terrorist organizations, and a number of other groups. It's the third such transfer of capos over the past year. Mexico's government said it has sent 92 people in total to the U.S. in total.

In August, Mexico's security minister acknowledged that some of the cartel leaders sent to the United States at that time were continuing criminal operations from prison and that their transfer was agreed upon because there was a risk they could be released due to judicial rulings.

FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks on stage at the draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Dec. 5, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP, File)