OKLAHOMA CITY — On a play ripped straight off 2K, Chet Holmgren threw the ball off the backboard and downed it for the vicious dunk. An animated Holmgren sent the active crowd into a frenzy.
The rare self-assist play sparked a 13-0 run for the Oklahoma City Thunder on their way to a 134-115 win over the LA Clippers. It was a massive victory as both teams will likely fight it out the rest of the way in the standings.
“I thought our execution was really good tonight,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault on their win. “I thought our recognition was really good. They really changed defenses tonight and kept us on our toes. … They made it challenging on us and our guys did a great job at recognizing what they were doing.”
The Thunder picked up the critical win over the league’s hottest team, which entered with a nine-game winning streak. LA was without Kawhi Leonard, who missed his first game of the season with a hip contusion.
The final score miscasts an exciting outing that featured teams exchanging leads and matching baskets for a half. At halftime, OKC led 64-59, and the Clippers briefly took the lead in the third quarter.
However, OKC buried the Clippers with a 45-point third quarter and entered the final frame with a 109-92 lead. A little over two minutes into the fourth quarter, the Thunder created a game-high 20-point lead.
“They’re a really good team that’s playing really well,” Daigneault said. “We knew they were gonna make a run and they did so I thought we did a good job at just taking the punch and just staying true to our stuff.”
The Thunder had an extremely efficient night from the field. OKC shot 59% from the field and went 16-of-34 (47.1%) from 3. It also went 16-of-18 from the free-throw line and dished a season-high 35 assists on 51 made baskets.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 31 points headlined the offensive outing but OKC had six players score double-digit points. Besides the flashy self-made dunk, Holmgren had an overall solid night of 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Meanwhile, the offense wasn’t a problem for LA either. The Clippers shot 48% from the field and went 17-of-43 (39.5%) from 3.
James Harden led LA with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists. After missing the first game of their road back-to-back with an illness, Paul George returned and totaled 22 points.
“I thought we pressured them and were physical without fouling them,” Daigneault said on George and Harden. “Tried to throw different looks at them. A lot of different guys had to guard them in the game. They’re really, really good players but I thought we kept them in an area that allowed us to extend leads.”
Per usual, Russell Westbrook was delighted with a celebratory reaction from the OKC faithful. The future Hall-of-Famer checking into the game received one of the loudest reactions from a rowdy crowd. Off the bench, he had 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Overall, this was a massive win for the Thunder as they began a five-game gauntlet of tough opponents. Even though Leonard was out, the Clippers were still a formidable opponent.
Outside of just the vibes gained from picking up a massive win over the hottest team in the league, this game could pay dividends down the road if tiebreaks are necessary.
“Obviously, they’re a super talented group, a bunch of Hall-of-Famers over there,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on the win. “We knew what the task was waking up this morning and we did enough for sure.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
Sharing the court with three probable future Hall-of-Famers, Gilgeous-Alexander turned in the best performance in OKC’s win.
In 32 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points on 11-of-25 shooting, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. He shot 8-of-9 from the free-throw line.
Like he usually does, Gilgeous-Alexander turned it up in the third quarter with 14 points and helped turn this tight contest into a double-digit lead entering the final frame.
The 25-year-old did most of his damage inside the paint, where he shot 8-of-15. The jumper didn’t fall for Gilgeous-Alexander tonight, but he still managed to turn in an efficient 31 points.
“We just stuck with it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on overcoming Giddey’s and Williams’ injuries. “Tried to make basketball plays on both ends of the floor. Tried to stay together and just trying to play through our identity.”
Sweet move, sweet finish 🤌 pic.twitter.com/WQqGDJM7yl
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 22, 2023
SGA steal & slam 😤@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/mIJqqGh4v4
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 22, 2023
Chet Holmgren: A
The highlight of the night belongs to Holmgren with the self-created jam that sent momentum toward OKC’s bench. Overall, the seven-foot rookie had a monster night against the Clippers.
In 30 minutes, Holmgren had 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting, seven assists and six rebounds. He shot 2-of-3 from 3 and went 3-of-3 from the free-throw line.
“I don’t know where it came from, really, honestly,” Holmgren said on his highlight dunk. “That was like an at-the-park move.”
The 21-year-old conducted most of his scoring in the first three quarters with 21 points. He shot 6-of-7 from inside of the paint.
It was a big night for Holmgren, as he served as the Thunder’s second-best player in this impressive win. The rookie center continues to play like one of the best players in the league.
“They zoned us and we played through him in the zone,” Daigneault said on Holmgren. “I thought he had a good balance of his own aggression, finding his own shots, getting his teammates activated… I thought his floor game might’ve been as good as it’s been all season.”
Connecting early from downtown OKC 👌
📺 @BallySportsOK pic.twitter.com/OlCtSc8Kc9
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 22, 2023
Chet turns the corner 🔨 pic.twitter.com/wKcqHJGjGJ
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 22, 2023
Set it 🆙, throw it down 😤
Vote Chet: https://t.co/2FFNkzxxzm pic.twitter.com/QlXHKvCRBk
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 22, 2023
Lu Dort: A-minus
The Clippers invited the Thunder to shoot a high volume of 3-pointers, which meant players like Dort needed to have a good shooting night to make them pay.
To his credit, that’s exactly what Dort did in OKC’s win. In 31 minutes, he had 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting and went 3-of-6 from 3. He also had four assists and three rebounds.
On defense, he anchored OKC’s great defensive performance on Harden and George — who were limited to a combined 45 points on 32 shots. Both stars had their moments, but neither really took over the game.
“In the NBA, nah,” Dort said on how often he sees Holmgren’s one-man alley-oop. “I’ve done it in high school… A long time. In high school, I can do whatever I want. In this league, doing that — especially as a rookie — takes a lot.”
All gas on the break ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/MriksRA9rJ
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 22, 2023
Tough takes to the rack 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/nbsda8co9E
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 22, 2023
Josh Giddey: B
It looked like a promising night for Giddey before he suffered a gruesome-looking ankle sprain.
Giddey got off to one of his best starts in recent memory. In 14 minutes, he had 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting and went 3-of-3 from 3. He also had four assists and three rebounds.
When LA sagged off of him, Giddey made them pay with some early 3-pointers to get the engine going for the Thunder offense.
On a second-quarter drive, Giddey suffered an ankle sprain that knocked him out the rest of the game. He hobbled into the tunnel and never resurfaced the rest of the night.
Daigneault didn’t provide an update following the win, saying they’ll know more in the immediate future.
The Thunder have been pretty lucky on the injury front this season, not suffering any serious absences. If Giddey is forced to miss extended time, OKC will need to adjust its starting lineup.
Vision with precision 👀
Vote Thunder: https://t.co/2FFNkzxxzm pic.twitter.com/nu5gLAWemR
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 22, 2023
