Shai Gilgeous-Alexander amassed 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists while leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 122-101 home victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
The Thunder improved to 13-0 at home and have won 17 of 18 overall.
The Clippers have dropped five consecutive games and 10 of their past 11.
Just as it did in the first meeting of the season between the teams — and has for much of the season — Oklahoma City turned up the defensive pressure to generate offense.
The Thunder scored 38 points off 29 Clippers turnovers, the highest total giveaway total in the NBA this season.
Oklahoma City’s Cason Wallace finished with five steals, tying his career high. He has 16 steals over his past four games and leads the league with an average of 2.4 thefts per contest.
Chet Holmgren put up 22 points while Jalen Williams added 20 for the Thunder. Gilgeous-Alexander sat out the fourth quarter, a common occurrence for him this season.
The Clippers were without James Harden for just the second time this season. He missed the game with a left calf contusion.
Kawhi Leonard led Los Angeles with 22 points, while John Collins logged 20. Ivica Zubac posted 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Los Angeles jumped to an 11-point lead early with a 12-0 run late in the first quarter, thanks to six consecutive points from Leaonard.
However, the Thunder immediately answered with 10 consecutive points, capped by a three-point play from Ajay Mitchell, then took the lead for good with a 9-0 run midway through the second quarter.
Though the Clippers shot 48.7% from the field for the game, they were just 7 of 21 from the field and 3 of 13 from beyond the arc in the second quarter when Oklahoma City outscored them 37-22 to take control.
The Thunder then extended the lead as much as 23 points in the third quarter thanks to 19 Gilgeous-Alexander points, virtually putting the game away.
Isaiah Hartenstein missed the game for Oklahoma City on the first night of a back-to-back, while Isaiah Joe returned after sitting out four games due to a knee injury. Joe finished with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
–Field Level Media
