The Oklahoma City Thunder battled with the Chicago Bulls on Monday inside the Paycom Center. It was the final elongated homestand for the OKC Thunder this season, a four-game stint that is broken up by a road trip to Houston before returning home for the Thunder’s final two regular season games inside the Paycom Center this season next week.
This game not only represented Josh Giddey’s first return trip to the Paycom Center as a visitor but the second to last game that the OKC Thunder will battle an Eastern Conference foe. The Thunder had only experienced one loss to an Eastern Conference rival to date and it remained that way after the final buzzer sounded.
The Thunder’s lopsided win over the Bulls clinched the best cross-conference record in NBA history since the league has expanded to the East and West playing each other twice a year in an 82-game season.
The previous best mark was three losses to a cross-conference squad, the worst Oklahoma City can do after this result is two losses, depending on the results of Wednesday’s clash with the Detroit Pistons in a Nationally Televised affair.
This win marks a 28-1 record against the Eastern Conference for the Oklahoma City Thunder, at a minimum one upping the 2016 Golden State Warriors, 2007 Dallas Mavericks and 2000 Los Angeles Lakers, who each posted a 27-3 record against the East.
The OKC Thunder have had a dominant season, a historic one at that, now move to 63-12 overall, having already clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and in the driver’s seat for the best record in the entire league. The Thunder still have a shot at the exclusive 70-win mark if OKC can win out.
Note: The 1996 and 1997 Chicago Bulls went 25-3 against the Western Conference.
