Undermanned OKC Secures Tenth Win of Season Against New Orleans

The small-ball Thunder ran away with the game in the second half thanks to the performances of Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Nov 13, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) and New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) fight for a loose ball during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

A shorthanded OKC Thunder squad earned its tenth win of the season, taking down the New Orleans Pelicans 106-88 at the Paycom Center.

OKC's two best healthy players, Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, led the way in scoring in the first half. Williams finished with 15 and Gilgeous-Alexander with 13, both in a fairly efficient manner. Off the bench, Aaron Wiggins scored eight first-half points.

A pull-up triple from Williams and a reverse layup from Pelicans forward Javonte Green finished the first half with a 54-50 score in favor of the Thunder. Both teams entered the matchup severely undermanned, missing key players at multiple positions.

Primarily for the Pelicans, they relied on the depths of its bench for scoring. Despite the injuries, star forward Brandon Ingram was around to handle most of the scoring duties. He finished with 18 on the night on 7-for-18 shooting, a primary reason for the closeness of the game in the first half and parts of the third quarter.

OKC might've had two of its three stars available, but the lack of size continued to be an issue on the rebounding and defensive front. The Thunder allowed 58 rebounds to the Pelicans compared to its 31, which appears to be a common theme in the absence of star big man Chet Holmgren. OKC has been forced to play small and because of that, they are sacrificing rebounds on offense and defense.

Gilgeous-Alexander, with the help of Wiggins and Williams, propelled the Thunder to an 82-68 lead to start the fourth quarter. At the beginning of the fourth, Williams added a few more buckets to bury the Pelicans and put the game out of reach halfway through the final quarter.

Normally, OKC would empty its bench in a large win. Unfortunately for its roster, they did not have the personnel for that. Williams was still in the game with 5:23 to play, capping off a lob from guard Cason Wallace. Williams finished with 31 on the night, adding six rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Seemingly, Williams did everything for the Thunder in its tenth win of the season.

Gilgeous-Alexander did his job as well, recording 29 points on 12-for-25 shooting, adding five rebounds and five assists.

Arguably the most impressive OKC stat on the night came from rookie guard Ajay Mitchell off the bench. Mitchell posted a plus-18 plus-minus, adding only six points to his stat line. The second-round rookie continues to be surprisingly impactful for OKC, especially in a crowded guard room.

The Thunder improved to 10-2 on the season with its win over New Orleans and will search for the eleventh against the Phoenix Suns on Friday, Nov. 15 at 7:00 p.m. CT.

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