For Caruso, the timing is perfect for the Thunder.

It escalated within seconds. Thunder assistant David Akinyooye quickly read the situation and stood up in a defensive stance to prevent any of OKC's bench players from stepping on the court and risking possible suspension. OKC security ran onto the court to stop Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from getting involved to the point they slipped in the mayhem.

You always have to be where your feet are, stay 0-0, stack days and all the other Mark Daigneault-isms that have transcended coach speak and turned into a livin

The Dallas Mavericks famously deployed zone defenses in their playoff series win last year against the Thunder. It resulted in the Thunder's top-five offense drying up and being dumbed down to Gilgeous-Alexander hitting on bail-out buckets. That wasn't a winning formula and ultimately cost OKC its playoff run.

Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault wasn't overly concerned about his team's sluggish defensive start after the All-Star break.

Of course, most of the credit for the Thunder’s dominant season will go to their star duo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, for good reason, but head coach Mark Daigneault deserves ...

Monday advanced the Thunder to 50-11 this season, its ninth 50-win equivalent season since its inception, tied with the Spurs, Celtics and Nuggets for the most such seasons in that span.