Facing a double, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander swung it out to Jalen Williams for the left-wing 3-pointer. The bucket gave OKC a 23-point lead with a little over three minutes left and was a neat way to tie a bow on this one.
The Oklahoma City Thunder used a strong fourth quarter to grind out a 107-83 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Thunder extended their winning streak to five.
“We did a great job defensively, obviously, and it was pretty consistent throughout the game,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win. “I thought we set a really good tone of physicality early. Both teams it was a really physical game, first quarter, first half.
“We were able to sustain a really high level defensively throughout. There wasn’t much that they got that was easy.”
The final score is a bit deceptive as the Thunder and Pelicans failed to generate any offensive rhythm for the first three quarters, which resulted in a low-scoring affair. Neither team created much distance on the scoreboard.
Following the first quarter, the Thunder trailed, 24-22. A 28-point second quarter by OKC helped flip the score as it entered halftime with a 50-41 lead over New Orleans.
A 27-point third frame by the Thunder built a 77-64 lead to enter the fourth quarter. To start the final frame, OKC’s 17-12 run ballooned its lead to 18 points with a little over six minutes left.
The Thunder continued to add to their advantage as they quickly created a game-high 26-point lead. Both teams cleared their benches with a little over three minutes left. By the final buzzer, OKC outscored New Orleans, 30-19, in the fourth quarter.
After initially struggling to score, the Thunder suddenly snapped out of their offensive funk. Overall, OKC shot 48% from the field and went 10-of-33 (30.3%) from 3. It collected 22 assists on 42 baskets.
“Our poise to stay with it even when the shots weren’t falling and we weren’t really moving the scoreboard a ton was impressive,” Daigneault said. “It didn’t impact our attacks on offense and it certainly didn’t impact our intensity on defense.”
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 31 points and five assists. Williams totaled 15 points and seven assists — with nine points in the final frame. Chet Holmgren had 20 points and 13 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans’ offensive outing matched its court and uniform combo. They shot an ugly 39% from the field and went 9-of-36 (25%) from 3. New Orleans committed 20 turnovers, which led to 22 points for OKC.
The Pelicans — who were without Zion Williamson as he recovers from a foot bruise — failed to record a single 15-plus-point scorer.
Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and nine rebounds; Herb Jones had 14 points and four rebounds; Brandon Ingram was limited to 12 points, nine assists and four rebounds; CJ McCollum was held to 12 points on 4-of-15 shooting.
Considering the Pelicans were fresh off of a franchise-record 153-point outing with two days of rest, this was a masterful defensive job by the Thunder to hold New Orleans to a measly 83 points.
“I think we did a really good job as a team,” Holmgren said on the defensive outing. “I don’t think there was too many missed assignments. We were all really keyed in on that end — helping the help guy… Overall, just a great team effort and kinda focus on that end.”
The Thunder continue to keep pace for the first seed and add to their league-best 15-8 road record with an impressive away victory.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.