Stripping the ball from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Paul George accelerated down the court for the impressive reversed one-handed jam. It was only fitting the Los Angeles Clippers’ All-Star forward hit the dagger near the end of his monster fourth quarter.
The Oklahoma City Thunder had taken a one-point lead with about three-and-a-half minutes remaining, but the Clippers, led by George, finished the contest on a 14-2 run to earn a 128-117 victory.
“I thought they outplayed us for the majority of the 48 minutes tonight,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the loss. “But we did a great job of hanging around the game and making a couple pushes at it to take a lead.”
The Clippers led 35-30 after a high-scoring opening frame. At halftime, LA led 65-61. In the third quarter, the Clippers grew their lead and entered the fourth quarter with a 99-89 lead. An Aaron Wiggins layup concluded a 17-9 run by OKC to open the final frame, making it a two-point contest with a little under seven minutes left.
From that point, both teams exchanged buckets before the aforementioned 14-2 run helped the Clippers create distance on the scoreboard.
After a sluggish showing in their loss to the Los Angeles Lakers the previous night, the Thunder’s elite offensive production returned to form in their second night at Crypto Arena. OKC shot 51% from the field and went 16-of-34 (47.1%) from 3. From the free-throw line, it shot 17-of-20. It dished 30 assists on 42 baskets.
For a second consecutive night, Jalen Williams led the Thunder in scoring. The second-year wing had 25 points and seven assists. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was limited to 19 points and Lu Dort had 19 points as well.
“Yeah, he’s cooking right now,” Daigneault said on Williams. “He’s doing a great job at finding a balance between being aggressive and hitting the gas. … He still makes the right passes regardless of the circumstances. He’s found a great balance, really grown as a player to this point.”
Meanwhile, the red-hot Clippers, who have won nine of their last 11, shot 54% from the field and went 20-of-43 (46.5%) from 3. They totaled 30 assists on 47 baskets. LA had five players score double-digit points.
Paul George scored a season-high 38 points on 15-of-24 shooting and went 6-of-12 from 3. He scored 18 points in the final frame to lead LA, including 11 of its final 14 points.
“He’s a good player, he made a lot of tough shots — especially down the stretch, so you kinda just have to tip your hat,” Williams said on George’s hot fourth quarter. “He had one in the wing that Lu contested and it just went in. It’s something he probably works on and made the shot.”
Kawhi Leonard, who missed the first matchup between these teams this season, had 16 points, six assists and six rebounds. James Harden tallied 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Mason Plumlee had 14 points and five rebounds.
Playing on TNT, the Thunder showed out for a national audience. This matchup was advertised as a heavyweight bout between two of the best teams in the league and it lived up to its billing.
“I think that (was) their best punch,” Daigneault said. “They’re almost fully healthy, they had a game plan that was specific to us. That’s how you learn kinda about yourselves. It’s a good barometer of where we are as a team.
“It also teaches us the way other teams see us and where we need to improve. … It’s exciting to know that we’re drawing teams’ best punches out of them.”
The final few minutes exposed OKC’s youth and inexperience, but it was a solid road showing for the Thunder. They’ll need to move on to try to snap a two-game skid.
“Tonight was our fifth (game) in seven nights and yet ran through the finish line of the game,” Daigneault said on their effort. “Gave ourselves a chance against a really good team on the road.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: C-minus
It was a tough two-day stay in LA for Gilgeous-Alexander. After being limited against the Lakers, the Clippers did an even better job at making him look uncomfortable.
In 34 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting and had four assists. He shot 0-of-3 from 3 and went 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
He was limited to 10 points in the first half. A nine-point third quarter was classic Gilgeous-Alexander, but he was held scoreless in the final five minutes of the contest.
The Clippers have a great defensive wing tandem in Leonard and George, so they likely played a role in Gilgeous-Alexander’s slow night. But one has to wonder how much his recently sprained knee played a role in these last two performances.
Regardless of the reasoning, the Thunder will need Gilgeous-Alexander to quickly return to his MVP form to wrap up the second half of this four-game road trip.
“It was good,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on facing the Clippers. “Obviously, it’s one of the better teams in the league. It’s what you play the game for, to play at the highest level. They gave us a really good game. They earned it tonight for sure.”
2️⃣ on both ends ↔️ pic.twitter.com/eXum1GMokR
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 17, 2024
Create that space, @shaiglalex
Vote Shai: https://t.co/2FFNkzxxzm pic.twitter.com/5gESgU4nCr
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 17, 2024
Tough take, tough finish
📺 @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/hsY7Zsednv
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 17, 2024
SGA with the lefty finish in traffic for the and-1 🤧 pic.twitter.com/vHsFwjEJPI
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 17, 2024
Jalen Williams: A-plus
The biggest positive of this two-game skid might be Williams’ continuing emergence as OKC’s second-best scorer.
Playing against future Hall-of-Fame frontcourt players like Leonard, George, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Williams stood his ground as a second-year wing.
In 33 minutes, Williams had 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting, seven assists and three rebounds. Once again, he had a monster fourth quarter with 12 points.
This included five straight points less than two minutes into the final frame to keep it close. Williams hit a 3-pointer in the final frame to give OKC its sole second-half lead of 115-114 with 3:37 left in regulation.
The 22-year-old has ascended since Daigneault gave him his own lineups with the second unit and he’s played beyond his experience against several multi-time All-Stars.
“They’re figuring it out,” Williams said on the Clippers. “They have a lot of future Hall-of-Famers on that team. It’s definitely fun to compete against them on a consistent basis and get those reps… Russell Westbrook comes off the bench, so I feel like that probably says enough about that team.”
Early ball movement in LA 🤝 pic.twitter.com/08dKRhtqUq
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 17, 2024
It starts on defense 😤 pic.twitter.com/0VZejMXqus
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 17, 2024
JDub with the tough step-back jumper 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ayalNXDlwq
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 17, 2024
Dub dime is right on time 🤌
Vote Thunder: https://t.co/2FFNkzxxzm pic.twitter.com/8PafQfgLaj
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 17, 2024
Elev-8️⃣-ing@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/4GbTYdMyod
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 17, 2024
JDub hits the HUGE three to give OKC the lead 🎯
PG responds with the CLUTCH and-1 for the Clippers 🔥 pic.twitter.com/m9EFxLoxyO
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 17, 2024
Lu Dort: A-minus
Playing on national television, Dort had one of his best games of the season. He continues to add to his mythos that when the stakes rise, so does his performances.
In 33 minutes, Dort had 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting and went 5-of-8 from 3. With both teams scoring at a fast rate, he contributed with 12 points in the first half.
On the defensive side, he helped guard the backcourt of Harden and Terence Mann — who were limited to a combined 23 points on 20 shots.
With Chet Holmgren and Josh Giddey struggling, Dort picked up some of the scoring slack for his fellow Thunder starters. It was a great showing on both ends for the starting wing.
Lu for ✌️
📺 @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/Gbzwi13zGJ
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 17, 2024
Isaiah Joe: A
It was a night-and-day difference for Joe during this Los Angeles back-to-back.
The outside shot fell for Joe as he scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from 3 in 23 minutes off the bench. He also had six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
This included a nine-point second half to help OKC keep it within reach for the final two quarters. He also dished out the assist to Williams that gave the Thunder their only lead in the second half.
After four points on 2-of-10 shooting against the Lakers, Joe had a much better outing against the Clippers. Such is life in the NBA with the outside shot.
“We definitely feel like we’ve gained respect from every team in the league,” Joe said on the Clippers’ effort against them. “We’ve got a really good squad and I think day in and day out, we show the league what we’re capable of.”
The block ➡️ the three pic.twitter.com/GH0OSfVayp
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 17, 2024
Isaiah Jo3 gettin’ to his spots 🎯 pic.twitter.com/Uv9m44HTom
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 17, 2024
High energy in the fourth 🔋 pic.twitter.com/VBpihONr19
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 17, 2024
