The Oklahoma City Thunder, on the second night of a row, defeated the LA Clippers by a final score of 134-128. Oklahoma City held a 20-point lead in the third quarter and managed to hold on through heroics.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 45 points on 13-of-21 shooting, 4-of-8 from deep and 15-of-16 from the free throw line. He added nine assists, five steals and two blocks.

Jalen Williams contributed 28 points on 16 shots, making two of his three 3-point attempts. Eight rebounds against Clippers center Ivica Zubac, six assists and two steals complete his line.

Norman Powell, who entered the night averaging over 25 points per game, had 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting and 5-of-8 shooting from downtown. He fouled a catch out of play with 1:32 left. The Clippers made 20 of 37 (54.1%) 3-point attempts.

In their first game without Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City opted for a small starting five: Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe.

The Clippers started James Harden, Powell, Terance Mann, Derrick Jones Jr. and Zubac for the 11th time in as many games.

Williams stripped Zubac on the first possession of the night, leading to a quick layup by Joe. He grabbed four defensive rebounds in the first four minutes, helping to alleviate the Thunder’s rebounding deficiencies.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored or assisted on Oklahoma City’s first 13 points, draining a high-end pull-up triple to give the Thunder an early nine-point advantage. He finished the quarter with nine points, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

Jones Jr., whose outside shooting helped the Dallas Mavericks eliminate the Thunder in the second round last season, made two three-pointers in the right corner to bring the Clippers back into the game. Oklahoma City led 25-24 after the first quarter, with the two teams combining for 17-of-46 (37.0%) shooting. The Thunder made five of their 16 3-point attempts in the period.

Cason Wallace held his own on a post-up attempt from Kevin Porter Jr., forcing a turnover out of bounds right in front of the Thunder bench. Wallace had two interceptions in the first half, but was scoreless on five field goal attempts.

After James Harden made a layup with five minutes left in the half to make it 42-42, Oklahoma City went on a 14-0 run. Gilgeous-Alexander and Wiggins returned to the game and combined for eight of those runs, capped by the former’s second triple of the night. Eight Thunder players made a three in the first half, including two each from Gilgeous-Alexander, Joe, Wiggins and Alex Caruso.

Kris Dunn made two wide-open threes just before halftime as the Thunder defenders struggled to recover from Harden’s double-team above the break, but the home team held on to a 66 advantage -53 at halftime. The Thunder’s small ball held LA to 9 for 21 inside the arc and forced 15 turnovers in the first half — five Clippers recorded several, including four from Zubac.

Williams had an elbow jumper, a steal and a breakaway dunk in 30 seconds of the second half. Dort drained consecutive 3 points to make up for the Clippers’ hot shooting outside. The Thunder’s double-digit lead expanded to 20 midway through the quarter with a signature mid-range shot from Gilgeous-Alexander.

The remaining six minutes belonged to LA. Powell, who scored two points in the first half without a field goal, had 18 in the third quarter. He made three layups and three 3-pointers, including a triple to the right corner on a tense Williams as the quarter buzzer expired. Oklahoma City led 99-94 with 12 minutes left.

The Thunder take on the New Orleans Pelicans this Wednesday, November 13 at 6:30 p.m. CST. This game will be the third in a six-game home series.

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