THE GRAHAM JAM

There were 80 seconds left in the ballgame, and the Thunder were still holding on.

Eight days earlier the Thunder had handled the Los Angeles Lakers in Oklahoma City, 123-115, after LA coughed up a 26-point lead. Now the Lakers were in danger of doing it again, trailing Oklahoma City by three late in a game they'd led by as many as 19 points.

Once again, as expected, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had played the hero for OKC. Gilgeous-Alexander had a team-high 25 points as he dribbled the ball self-assuredly across half-court, eyeing his defender Avery Bradley. Bradley stood just above the 3-point line; the Lakers didn't need to foul yet, just get a stop.

SGA didn't even give them a chance.

While still standing on the "L" of the Lakers' midcourt logo, Gilgeous-Alexander suddenly gathered the ball and launched a 32-footer. It caught nothing but net, putting Oklahoma City up by six and giving SGA his final three points of 28 total.

The Lakers nailed several clutch 3s in the final minutes to keep the game close, but former Thunder Russell Westbrook's final attempt missed from 3 and secured Oklahoma City's victory.

The Thunder had beaten an NBA championship contender twice in just over a week.

True, Los Angeles was without LeBron James in both contests. James played in the Lakers' intervening games but missed the second OKC matchup with an abdominal strain. But the losses were nonetheless devastating for a Lakers team with high hopes this season, and no less exciting for a young Thunder squad.

Oklahoma City carried that momentum into Sunday night, when it faced down the San Antonio Spurs at home and came away with its second consecutive victory, 99-94. It was another comeback effort, as the Thunder trailed by 16 in the first half before erasing the deficit and vaulting ahead.

The Thunder are now 3-6 on the young season.

Oklahoma City's two comebacks were bolstered by some unlikely players. Gilgeous-Alexander, of course, was a huge factor in both games, netting 28 points against LA and another 14 against San Antonio -- nearly earning a triple-double with eight rebounds and nine assists, to boot.

But Thursday's win was hugely influenced by Ty Jerome, who came off the bench in the second quarter and scored 10 quick points for the Thunder, helping them chip away. He finished with 14 points and three made 3-pointers, earning more than 21 minutes of playing time in that contest.

On Sunday, the team's highest scorer was none other than veteran center Mike Muscala. He finished with 20 points in just over 14 minutes, shooting 3-for-4 from long range, and supercharged the team in the second quarter.

Remember when I wrote that Muscala "should probably never lead the Thunder in scoring”? Yeah, never mind.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said Moose's big night was "similar" to Jerome's on Thursday. "We just didn't have anything going offensively," Daigneault admitted. "I thought early on we got some decent looks that weren't falling. And even as we got into the second unit, we generated some really good, open shots.

"Obviously they weren't falling, and he (Muscala) gave us a big lift right there."

The Thunder will try to extend their winning streak this week, and will have the matchups to make that happen. They'll start on Wednesday night with a road contest against the hapless New Orleans Pelicans, who've started the season 1-10 without injured superstar Zion Williamson.

Then the Thunder return home on Friday, Nov. 12 and take on Sacramento (5-6). They'll close out the weekend with a real challenge, though, meeting Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets (7-4) on Sunday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. at the Paycom Center.

Until next time, Oklahoma -- Thunder Up!