Thunder’s Mark Daigneault gives instant reaction to Jared McCain’s debut

OKLAHOMA CITY — Coach Mark Daigneault watched Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain make his debut in a 112-106 loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday. McCain was welcomed with open arms by Thunder fans at the Paycom Center with a standing ovation, as he checked in. He finished with five points, two rebounds, and one assists in 15 minutes.

After the game, Daigneault commended McCain for his performance under such short notice, as the Thunder’s trade with the Philadelphia 76ers was just made official, which cleared McCain to play in Saturday’s game.

“He was good. He hasn’t been here for more than 48 hours. So, that’s a really tough spot, but I thought he did a really good job of just blending into the team, blending into the game,” Daigneault said. “He was confident and aggressive, but not inappropriately. He looked like he belonged out there in terms of the way we play. So, he did a nice job in, obviously, a challenging circumstance.”

Mark Daigneault on Jared McCain’s Thunder debut: “Hasn’t been here for more than 48 hours. So, that’s a really tough spot…

He was confident and aggressive, but not inappropriately. He looked like he belonged out there in terms of the way we play” pic.twitter.com/F74PIWfegR

— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) February 7, 2026

Jared McCain followed up his first made bucket since joining the Thunder with a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, which led to another ovation from a newfound fanbase excited for what the second-year guard will bring to the defending champions.

With All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ruled out for at least a week due to an abdominal injury, Daigneault will lean on his complementary guards, such as Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe, and McCain for steady offensive production.

Wallace finished with a team-high 23 points on 10-for-16 shooting, and four steals. Joe’s 21 points and three steals led the Thunder’s bench production. Tari Eason’s 26 points led all five Rockets starters in double figures, including Jabari Smith Jr. (22 points), and Kevin Durant (23 points), who all combined for a whopping 71 points on 21-of-44 attemtps.

Mark Daigneault calls out Thunder’s ‘execution’ vs. Rockets

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault called out his team’s late-game execution in a six-point loss to the Rockets on Saturday. Daigneault says the Thunder competed at a high level and stayed close with the Rockets toward the end, but couldn’t make clean defensive stops, and a series of turnovers resulted in a second consecutive loss.

“We played the game really hard, which was positive. I thought we really attacked the game on both ends of the floor,  played the right way, we were competitive, and we were together,” Daigneault said. “They made a couple of more plays than us, and I thought, in terms of what we can control, there were some execution stuff on both ends that just wasn’t clean enough in a possession game like that.

“But it wasn’t due to a lack of wanting it or a lack of togetherness. I thought we had that today.”

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