On Thursday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 116-98, led by 29 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and won their 13th straight regular-season game, setting a team record.
After falling behind 16 points in the first half, the Thunder closed the gap to 52-48 at the intermission. The Thunder overcame a chilly shooting first half to score 42 points in the third quarter and take an 18-point lead into the fourth.
For the Thunder, who are 28-5 and have won 17 of their past 18 regular-season games, Gilgeous-Alexander also recorded a game-high eight assists. In the fourth quarter, he did not play.
For Oklahoma City, Isaiah Hartenstein contributed 11 points and nine rebounds, while Jalen Williams scored 18 points.
With 26 points, Amir Coffey led the Clippers.
The Thunder ended the game at an even 50% and added 11 steals to their league-leading total after shooting just 31% in the first half.
Takeaways
The Clippers, who were without James Harden due to a late scratch, were ultimately overpowered by the Thunder’s depth despite their poor start.
Key moment
Williams scored the first six points of the second half to ignite a 23-5 run that put the Thunder in control after hitting a runner at the halftime buzzer to cut the Clippers’ advantage to four.
Key stat
Norman Powell had a career-high 24.3 points per game average going into the match. He finished with six points on 1-of-11 shooting, including 0-for-5 from 3-point range, after missing his first nine shots and failing to make a basket until eight minutes left.
Up next
The Thunder will play the Knicks on Friday night to resume their homestand. Kawhi Leonard is anticipated to return when the Clippers host Atlanta at home on Saturday.
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