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.