Three Takeaways from the OKC Thunder's 116-98 Win Over the LA Clippers

The Oklahoma City Thunder took its 28th victory and 13th in a row on Thursday night over the LA Clippers. Let's take a look at three things to take away from last night's matchup.

Jan 2, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Kevin Porter Jr. (77) drives between Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kenrich Williams (34) and guard Cason Wallace (22) during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder reached its 28th win on the season on Thursday night versus the LA Clippers. Without James Harden on the floor, Oklahoma City routed LA 116-98 en route to its 13th consecutive win.

Amir Coffey led the way for the Clippers with 26 points on the night along with a solid help from the team's bench, but the Thunder firepower of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams helped nullify those efforts.

Forcing 19 turnovers to Oklahoma City's nine, LA had a tough time taking care of the ball—a common theme that opponents have fallen victim to against OKC this season.

Let's take a deeper look at three dynamics on the night that led to the Thunder's win:

Turnover DNA

At this point, it's in the Thunder's DNA to force a high amount of turnovers while greatly limiting its own mistakes.

As mentioned with Oklahoma City's nine turnovers to LA's 19, the Thunder garnered five more shots on the night along with 17 fast break points and 13 total points off turnovers. Norman Powell and Amir Coffey were the primary victims to the Thunder defense, with Powell coughing the ball up six times and Coffey four times to help Oklahoma City widen its lead into its eventual win.

Core Thunders Shine

OKC's primary core held down the fort on its way to the win on Thursday night.

It's starting five dominated the court over the Clippers, averaging a plus-minus of plus-23.4 throughout its core. Williams, Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Hartenstein, Aaron Wiggins and Lu Dort all did their due diligence, limiting the Clippers starting five to a minus-21.2 on the night.

The trio of Hartenstein, Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander saw them post 58 points to help catapult the team to its 18-point victory inside Paycom Center.

Outrebounded but Not Outplayed

Oklahoma City still awaits Chet Holmgren of course, but Hartenstein has held his own thus far in his time on the floor this season. But on Thursday night, the Clippers snagged 10 more boards than the Thunder—45 to its 35, while Hartenstein grabbed nine boards of his own.

It didn't lead to much of anything as seen, primarily due to the large turnover disparity between the two teams. 10 offensive rebounds to the Thunder's four should've caused a closer game, but Oklahoma City's knack to make the opposition commit mistakes bridged that gap.

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As Oklahoma City continues to grow its win streak, the team looks ahead to another home contest versus the New York Knicks at 7 p.m. on Friday.

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