The Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back from last night’s loss and major injury to Chet Holmgren by defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 134-128 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City tonight.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up a career-high 45 points (13-21 FG) and nine assists to lead the short-handed Thunder to the win. Jalen Williams stepped in at center despite being just 6’5″ and put up 28 points (11-16 FG), eight rebounds, and six assists. Lu Dort put up 19 points (7-14 FG) while Isaiah Joe (12 PTS), Alex Caruso (12 PTS), and Aaron Wiggins (10 PTS) all had double-digit scoring performances in this win.
The Clippers had a great offensive night despite the loss, led by Norman Powell‘s 31 points (10-15 FG) and three steals. Ivica Zubac had success in the post on the center-less Thunder with 22 points (9-12 FG), 14 rebounds, and three blocks. Derrick Jones Jr. scored 20 points (8-13 FG) though James Harden struggled to score against the team that drafted him, ending the night with 17 points (5-15 FG), 11 rebounds, and nine assists.
Here are three major factors behind OKC pulling out this win in a high-scoring affair.
Fighting Offense With Offense
The NBA has a lot of high-scoring teams but this game saw two of the league’s top-10 defenses abandon that philosophy for a shootout. The Clippers have to feel hard done by this loss, as the team shot 44-80 from the field (55.0 FG%) and 20-37 from three (54.1%) for their best shooting night of the season. But the Thunder responded with similar high-octane offense, although it wasn’t as efficient.
OKC shot 47-91 from the field (51.6 FG%) and 18-46 from three (39.1 3PT%), shooting at a much higher volume despite being thoroughly out-rebounded (29-47) on the night. Free throw efficiency made a difference, as OKC went 22-23 from the line while the Clippers went 20-29, getting more opportunities but converting at a 69.0% clip from the line didn’t cut it against OKC’s 95.7%.
Even with their lack of size and rebounding, OKC used their strong perimeter defenders to hassle Clippers’ ball-handlers and generate 16 steals, many of which led to easy fast-break opportunities. Forcing turnovers on defense and avoiding them on offense was one of the key differentiators between the teams, as the Clippers saw arguably one of their best offensive nights in recent memory go to waste.
No Center, No Problem
The OKC Thunder entered this contest with all three centers on the roster out with injuries. Isaiah Hartenstein is still weeks away from making his regular season debut for the franchise with a left-hand fracture, while backup center Jaylin Williams is currently sidelined with a hamstring strain. Chet Holmgren suffered an iliac hip fracture last night, with the injury likely keeping him out until the All-Star break at the earliest.
Power forward Jalen Williams is just 6’5″ but played the center role on paper as the Thunder hoped their perimeter defense could contain the Clippers enough for them to be successful without a rim protector. Unfortunately for them, the Clippers had an electric shooting night but the Thunder managed to still come ahead due to their own offensive potency.
OKC played fast-paced basketball which should theoretically be challenging against the Clippers’ disruptive perimeter defense, but a combination of strong shooting, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander having a career scoring performance, and 16 steals by OKC made sure that the lack of a center on the court didn’t sink the Thunder into losing this.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Is Coming For That MVP
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander proved once again why he is one of the leaders in MVP conversations this season, putting up a career-high 45 points and five steals in this win when his team needed him the most. OKC is on the second night of a back-to-back, with the first game being a loss against a rival franchise where their star center went out with a season-altering injury. Shai stepped up when his team needed him the most, like how an MVP does.
He’s averaging 27.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists this season, solidifying his MVP case with high production and an expected winning record. Nikola Jokic looks set to win his fourth MVP in five seasons with his ridiculous production at the moment, but OKC is expected to outpace them in terms of wins. Luka Doncic has not looked like an MVP to start the season, so it seems Shai is in the best position to unseat Jokic as the league’s MVP at this moment.
With the injuries to the Thunder, if Shai continued putting up ridiculous numbers in single-digit wins, his impact would be lauded league-wide. He is one of the leading MVP candidates this season with the perfect opportunity to strengthen his case by dominating during OKC’s time of need.
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