Coming into their Christmas showdown against the Rockets, the Oklahoma City Thunder had won 10 of their last 13 dating back to a Dec. 1 victory over Minnesota. It looked great on the surface, but it didn't take much digging to see the the "run" was a little deceiving. 

After that Wolves win, OKC's most impressive triumph was probably a five-point win at Indiana. The Thunder beat the Spurs by three, without Kawhi Leonard. They beat the Jazz, without Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. They beat the Nuggets by one. They beat the Sixers, who have lost nine of their last 11, by two, in triple overtime. They needed Russell Westbrook to hit a 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left to slip past the eight-win Hawks. 

In reality, the best thing you could say about OKC during this stretch was that it was finding a way to win the close games that were going the other way to start the season. And then it beat Houston, an elite team, in a close Christmas Day game, and now we can officially recognize that, yes, the Thunder are heading in a promising direction as winners of five straight (the longest current win streak in the West) and 11 of their last 14 games. 

Sure, Chris Paul didn't play on Christmas. Perhaps that takes some of the shine off this OKC showing, but this isn't to say OKC is better than Houston anyway, or that it would beat the Rockets in a seven-game series. Let's let the season play out before we get to the overreactions. Right now, this simply means that this OKC team that was struggling to find any sort of identity to start the year has indeed found a sustainable model with which it can move forward. 

If Westbrook was struggling early on to accommodate his new co-stars without compromising his own single-minded aggression, this is once again Russ' show. He led OKC on Christmas with 31 points. His usage rate is spiking over this stretch, while Carmelo Anthony and Paul George have settled into truer secondary roles. 

Carmelo, in particular, is opting for his patented, and maligned, face-up contested jumper far less often. Instead, he's trailing in transition for open threes, and in the half-court he's hanging around the 3-point line, often in the corner, ready to fire at a moment's notice when Russ or George draws the defense as the elite penetrators that they are. Melo, and OKC as a whole, can absolutely live on a steady diet of shots like this: 

Against Houston, Melo was 8 of 12 from the field, including 2 of 4 from three, for 20 supremely efficient points. That is a dream line for OKC. And this isn't happening by accident, by the way. Carmelo is conscious of his shift in role and focus. He doesn't deserve a medal or anything; it's the right thing for the team. But give the guy credit. Existing as something of a spot-up shooter and intermittent focal point, when you've been the best scorer on your team, and one of the best in the world, for as long as you can remember, is not an easy thing to do. Anthony saw where the Thunder were heading with him playing like he's used to playing, and he committed to change. And now they're not going that way anymore. 

All told, OKC's Big 3 of Westbrook, Anthony and George combined to score 75 points, on 55 percent shooting, against Houston. George was 4 of 7 from downtown. Westbrook only took one three but was deadly with that mid-range pull-up. You're starting to see OKC's Big 3 understanding their real estate, where their shots are going to come from, how they can properly balance the floor with their mere presence. Melo picks for Westbrook, fans out to the corner, George spaces on the weak side, Russ attacks. There's a rhythm developing here. Everyone is involved. 

What does that do? Simple: When it came down to clutch time vs. Houston, the Big 3 were all in rhythm. George wasn't trying to force his own action after three quarters of relative inactivity. Melo and Westbrook weren't trying to shoot their way out of an inefficient night. They were all ready to take, and make, big shots on the biggest possessions because their rhythm was already established. 

When that's the case, an isolation possession isn't so bad; indeed, there's a difference between settling for an isolation jumper and hunting one because you're feeling it. To some degree, the Thunder are going to be a make-or-miss team. They're going to go one-on-one. The key is that they establish their rhythm first. When Melo and George are already cooking, nobody in the world is going to argue with these shots down the stretch:

This is a sustainable model for the Thunder, and it all starts with Westbrook, who had 11 assists against Houston to get his co-stars going without compromising his aggression. They won't always shoot as well as they did on Christmas Day, but it's the type of shots they're taking that matters. That will play out over the long haul. That, combined with their defense, will keep them competitive against anyone in the league into the final stretches and ready to take their chances on a few make-or-miss possessions. 

If you're the Thunder, you have to like those chances.