Thunder’s Dominant Victory Over Jazz Marred by Mysterious Smoke Machine Breakdown—What Really Happened at Delta Center?

Sunday night’s showdown at the Delta Center was anything but ordinary. The Oklahoma City Thunder cruised to a decisive win, despite missing their MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was sidelined with elbow bursitis — talk about depth! Meanwhile, chaos stirred off the court when a rogue smoke machine on top of the basket suddenly blasted mid-game during a free throw by Thunder’s Chet Holmgren. The surreal sight went unnoticed at first, with the game rolling on until officials finally intervened to silence the unplanned pyrotechnics. In the midst of the mayhem, Holmgren dazzled with a fast-break dunk, setting the tone for a 15th consecutive Thunder victory, moving them perilously close to breaking the single-season wins record held by the 2015-16 Warriors. Meanwhile, the Jazz, rattled and struggling, couldn’t keep pace and dropped to 8-15 after suffering another blowout loss. This clash wasn’t just about the scoreboard but the spectacle and resilience of a team eager to etch its name in the NBA history books. LEARN MORE

The Oklahoma City Thunder had no issues on Sunday night, even with reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sitting on the bench.

The Delta Center in Salt Lake City, on the other hand, struggled.

Midway through the second quarter, a smoke machine sitting on top of one of the baskets in the arena started going off randomly while Thunder star Chet Holmgren was shooting a free throw. It kept going off for quite some time, too, and nobody on the court seemed to notice.

Holmgren even threw down a dunk on a fast break before officials stopped the game to fix the broken smoke machine — which made for quite the scene.

“He is literally setting this place on fire,” one of the announcers joked.

The Jazz opened the game with a free throw, though that was their only lead of the night. The Thunder responded with a 13-0 burst before rolling to the 131-101 win. It marked their 15th consecutive victory and brought them to 23-1 on the season — which is on pace to break the league’s single-season wins record set by the Golden State Warriors back during the 2015-16 campaign.

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Holmgren led the way with 25 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder. Jalen Williams had 25 points, too, and Aaron Wiggins added 19 points off the bench. They shot 58% from the field as a group and 21-of-42 from behind the arc. Gilgeous-Alexander sat out due to left elbow bursitis, marking his first missed game of the season.

Kyle Filipowski led the Jazz with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Both Walter Clayton Jr. and Taylor Hendricks added 20 points off the bench. The Jazz fell to 8-15 after the loss, which marked their second straight loss by 30 points or more.

While it’s unclear what sparked the smoke on Sunday night, the arena staff has some time to figure it out. The Jazz have one game this week, against the Grizzlies in Memphis, and won’t be back at home until they host the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 15.