The Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the Emirates NBA Cup championship Saturday night, defeating the No. 3 seed Houston Rockets, 111-96. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 32 points on 8-for-21 shooting and 14-for-15 at the stripe — he has reached at least 30 points in eight of his last nine games. Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort combined for 39 points on 31 shots, making seven of their 14 3-point attempts.

Oklahoma City’s second-leading scorer turned out to be its marquee offseason signing. Isaiah Hartenstein, who made his Thunder debut less than four weeks ago, recorded a career-high 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting. He thrived in the dunker’s spot all night, receiving interior assists from five different players and making two putback layups. His alley-oop from Cason Wallace with two minutes left in the game gave Oklahoma City an important 10-point lead.

The big man also flashed his silky touch, making two of his four floaters — including an 11-footer midway through the first quarter. He has shot 22-for-39 (56.4%) on floaters this season, good for the 20th-highest percentage out of 140 players who have taken at least 15.

The free-flowing Thunder system with Hartenstein functioning as a nail outlet has yielded him consistent scoring opportunities. Oklahoma City’s new center has attempted 9.5 field goals per game this season, by far the most of his career — his previous high over a whole season was 5.4 per game on the 2021-22 LA Clippers.

Hartenstein’s game-to-game volume has coincided with more attempts on a rate basis, as he has taken a career-high 15.2 shots per 100 possessions. His 60.4% 2-point percentage is a slight dip from his lifetime 61.5% shooting inside the arc, though he has missed all four attempted triples.

The German big man achieved a 21-point performance after just 10 games with the Thunder, which did not come as an accident. He has attempted at least 10 shots in five games — already equaling his frequency last season — and at least seven shots in nine games. Hartenstein’s 18.2% usage rate trails only Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Aaron Wiggins in Oklahoma City’s fully healthy rotation.

Hartenstein and the Thunder take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the Emirates NBA Cup championship this Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 7:30 p.m. CST.

Want to join the discussion? Like Thunder on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.