Utilizing a Chet Holmgren screen, Jalen Williams sped through an open left lane, extended his arm and hit the game-sealing layup. The massive basket gave OKC a five-point lead with 27 seconds left. A 12-0 run to close out helped it escape New Orleans with an intense road victory.
The Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the New Orleans Pelicans in a 119-112 win. This gives OKC its 50th win of the season, the eighth time it’s reached this mark over the last 15 seasons — tied for most in the NBA.
“Great fortitude by the team. I thought the guys showed great toughness,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win. “Obviously, we were able to build a great lead, we got off to a great start. Credit them, they were really, really sharp in the third — especially made shots, put a lot of game pressure on us, took a lead.
“I just thought down the stretch, we just chopped away. A lot of game left at four-and-a-half minutes when we had the timeout. The guys showed great toughness.”
The Thunder got off to a hot start and held a 10-4 lead less than three minutes into the contest. The Pelicans quickly responded as OKC ended the first quarter in a small 34-33 deficit. The Thunder bounced back in the second frame with a 40-point period that helped them enter halftime with a 73-58 advantage.
Coming out of the break, the Thunder built a 20-point cushion less than five minutes into the third frame. It looked like OKC was on its way cruising to an easy win. Instead, New Orleans responded with a 20-2 run and suddenly turned it into a two-point contest. The Thunder exited the third frame with a trimmed 96-90 lead.
A 9-3 run by the Pelicans to start the fourth quarter suddenly saw the contest tied at 99 apiece with a little under eight minutes left. From that point forward, OKC and New Orleans exchanged blows before the latter created some space with a five-point lead with a little over three minutes left.
As the New Orleans crowd grew louder and turned into a playoff-esque atmosphere, it felt like the Pelicans were on their way to an impressive win and the Thunder would blow their second 20-plus point lead against them this season.
Instead, the Thunder hunkered down and finished the game on a 12-0 run in the final 3:11. It started with an assisted layup by Williams. After struggling with his jumper, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down a crucial stepback 3-pointer. He stole the ball away the next possession and Lu Dort splashed in a wide-open left-wing 3-pointer off a Josh Giddey pass.
Williams then drove through a lane for the mentioned layup and sealed it with a pair of free throws as the Pelicans tried to extend the contest. OKC held New Orleans scoreless for the final three-plus minutes as it quieted an active crowd to collect the close win.
“We got out to a pretty decent 20-point lead and then they started to hit shots midway through the third,” Giddey said. “Crowd got involved. They started getting confidence, feeling good about themselves. They came all the way back, got in front. Our guys showed great mental toughness throughout those stretches to not fold.”
Williams added: “We understand that basketball is a game of runs. You hit a couple of 3s in a 20-game and it’s almost single digits. That’s just basketball… I thought we did a good job at kinda sticking with it throughout the stretch.”
The Thunder shot 54% from the field and went 15-of-34 (44.1%) from 3. They dished out 28 assists on 46 baskets. OKC finished with a trio of 20-point scorers in this close win.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 24 points and eight assists. Williams tallied 26 points and five assists. Giddey had 25 points and enjoyed a career night from outside.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans shot 45% from the field and went 14-of-38 (36.8%) from 3. They shot 20-of-23 from the free-throw line. They had 26 assists on 39 baskets. Four Pelicans players scored double-digit points as they navigated through Brandon Ingram’s absence.
Zion Williamson led the way with 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting, 10 assists and three steals. He was limited to four points in the fourth quarter. CJ McCollum scored 23 points on 8-of-24 shooting, six rebounds and five assists. Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III contributed with 16 points apiece.
After their humiliating loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Thunder needed a bounce-back performance against one of the hottest teams in the league. OKC showed resilience in a hostile environment as it saw its 20-point lead melt away.
Instead of panicking and puncturing the problem, the Thunder remained methodical and weathered the situation before a strong closeout led them to one of their more impressive wins of the season. The road win keeps them on pace for the first seed with a couple of weeks left.
“You have to be able to handle a lot of different situations and competition,” Daigneault said. “I thought our guys showed great toughness and poise in a pretty hostile environment against a very sharp opponent that had a lot of momentum.”
Giddey translated in layman’s terms: “We don’t flinch.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: B
Nailing a stepback 3-pointer, Gilgeous-Alexander played a massive role in the Thunder’s 12-0 closing run as he tied it up with 1:29 to go. The big-time bucket helped overcome a subpar performance by the MVP candidate, but this was the latest example of a recent disturbing trend.
In 38 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals. He shot 1-of-3 from 3 and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
A quiet first quarter featured just three points from Gilgeous-Alexander, who checked out midway through the frame. A surprising decision considering he’s played the entirety of the first quarter for most of the season.
“We need to stay aggressive and understanding all the tools in the toolbox with our team,” Daigneault said on the rotation decision. “That’s one thing we haven’t looked at and we wanted to take a look at it.
“We wanted to see what Shai looked like on shorter rotations. We wanted to see what Dub looked like in longer rotations. We wanted to see how that changed our substitution beginning in the second quarter. It continues to make us a moving target for our opponents.”
It looked like the rest did him some good as he scored 18 points in the middle quarters. He led OKC to a 40-point second frame. But was unusually quiet in the fourth quarter of a tight contest with just three points on 1-of-6 shooting.
The drive-heavy guard uncharacteristically settled for several contested mid-range jumpers. It’s been an odd string of games for Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s played a tamed version of his style recently.
Looking slower, Gilgeous-Alexander explained after the win that he’s dealing with a quad injury he suffered last week. The noticeable dip in production aligns with the incident.
“Little banged up in my quad since the Utah game,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Just take it day by day, see how I feel when I wake up.”
This will be something OKC will monitor the rest of the way as it has a jam-packed final couple of weeks in the regular season. The Thunder will need Gilgeous-Alexander at his best by the start of the playoffs.
Josh Giddey: A-plus
After setting a career-high in 3-pointers last game, Giddey quickly one-upped himself as he’s played his best stretch of basketball at the right time.
In 31 minutes, Giddey finished with a season-high 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting, nine rebounds and four assists. He shot a career-high 5-of-8 from 3. His final outside shot was from the right corner to give OKC a two-point lead with 5:26 left.
“Just keep shooting with confidence,” Giddey said. “My guys trust me, coach trusts me to step out there and shoot them. Just gotta continue to be confident in them whether they’re going in or not.”
Giddey had another hot start with 10 quick points in the first quarter. A 15-point second half capped off this close win over the Pelicans.
As the season winds down, it looks like the 21-year-old has found a groove. It’s an optimal time for him to play his best basketball. Suppose he can continue to attack the basket and make the right decisions while hitting the outside shot at a respectable clip. In that case, OKC suddenly turns even more dangerous without a single weak link among its starters.
“I give him a lot of credit, he’s worked hard on it,” Daigneault said about Giddey’s 3-point night. “He’s had the schemes of people leaving him open. Which I think is a really difficult thing, especially as somebody as a developing shooter.
“He’s just kinda stuck with it through the ups and downs of the season. For him to have a night like that shooting the ball, I’m really, really happy for him.”
Jalen Williams: A-plus
With Gilgeous-Alexander’s quad bothering him, Williams stepped up and was one of OKC’s top scorers in this resume-building win.
In 34 minutes, Williams had 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting, five assists and two rebounds. He shot 3-of-6 from 3 and went 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.
The second-year wing had a hot start with 10 points in the first quarter. He totaled 18 points in the first half. As OKC looked to close out a tight contest, Williams scored six points in the final 2:30 of the contest. This included his game-sealing layup and free throws at the end.
The 22-year-old played a massive role in OKC’s win and has been one of its best players this season. If Gilgeous-Alexander is forced to miss time or take a lesser offensive role, look for Williams to soak up plenty of those possessions.
“It’s fun being in an atmosphere like that and being in a game where you have to make so many in-game adjustments and kinda adapt to each other,” Williams said. “I think that was really good for us… I thought we did a good job at having an all-five mentality.”
Chet Holmgren: A
Crossing Giddey over, Murphy III attempted a posterizing two-hand jam. Mid-air, the wing quickly realized his mistake as Holmgren recovered at the rim and swatted the dunk attempt away with a two-handed approach.
The highlight block headlined a bounce-back performance for Holmgren. He finished with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 33 minutes. He shot 1-of-6 from 3.
A strong first half featured Holmgren with nine points. He was utilized as a roll threat more frequently in this contest as three of his baskets inside were assisted. It included a rare Gilgeoua-Alexander alley-oop. This has been a point of emphasis for OKC recently as it hopes to use his seven-foot stature to its advantage.
Facing off against Jonas Valanciunas, Holmgren made the hefty six-foot-11, 265-pound center obsolete. He only played 11 minutes and was benched in the second half.
This is just the latest example of Holmgren’s weight concerns being overblown. The rookie center has played a vital role in OKC’s success this season and has played in every contest despite his lanky frame.
