Thunder Roll in Second Half, Take Down Clippers for Franchise-High 13th Straight Win

Despite a slow first half, OKC's pair of stars and its supporting cast ran away with an impressive victory against the LA Clippers.

Jan 2, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots between Los Angeles Clippers guard Kris Dunn (8) and forward Derrick Jones Jr. (55) during the first quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder looked to continue its 12-game winning streak against the LA Clippers at home. Little did they know, the Clippers would provide quite the challenge as the Thunder looked for its No. 28 win of the season. Oklahoma City managed a 116-98 win despite its early struggles.

Entering as the underdog on the road, the Clippers couldn't have envisioned a prettier start to this matchup. Oklahoma City struggled early in the most simple principle of basketball -- putting the ball in the hoop. The Thunder shot 18-for-44 from the field in the first and eventually, 43-for-86 in the entirety of the game. To make matters worse, the Thunder only hit six triples in the first half on 20 attempts. If it weren't for a few late makes in the first half, those numbers would have turned out much worse.

OKC desperately needed some sort of spark in the first half after going down 40-24 with 8:38 to play. LA had all of Oklahoma City's normal looks clamped down and was attacking the basket at a pace that was challenging to beat.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a triple from Isaiah Joe helped close the first-half gap to 52-48, alongside a multitude of defensive stops. The late run and tight defense from Oklahoma City gave them much more to work with entering the second part of the game.

Clipper guard Kris Dunn and forward Derrick Jones Jr. deserve massive credit for the defensive disruption that caught the Thunder off guard. Dunn had the assignment of guarding Gilgeous-Alexander, holding him to 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting in the opening half of the game with only three free throw attempts. Jones took control of the wings, not allowing any of Isaiah Joe, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams and others to get hot.

The Thunder got to work quickly to start the second half, leading 69-60 with seven and a half minutes to play in the quarter. Williams scored six straight to open the half and tacked on two more later, with Gilgeous-Alexander picking up his production shortly after that.

It took a while, but Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams finally managed to get to their usual spots in this game. All of Williams' opening buckets in the second half were at the rim and Gilgeous-Alexander began to look unstoppable at his mid-range spots.

That small nine-point ballooned into a larger one by the quarter's end. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points in the quarter, practically taking his team's scoring into his hands. He finished with 29 on the night on 9-for-17 shooting while adding eight assists, another impactful night for the potential MVP candidate. Williams followed suit with 18 of his own on 8-for-14 shooting.

OKC's defense in the second half was much more to its usual intensity and level. Scoring was nearly impossible for LA and if Oklahoma City had come out with that energy to start the game, the game wouldn't have been close in the first place. More importantly, OKC forced 19 turnovers while only committing nine. This is a common theme for the Thunder this season, but it was another factor that allowed them back into the game.

Amir Coffey consistently scored the most for LA, finishing with 24 points. Center Mo Bamba and guard Kevin Porter Jr. came off the bench for scoring assistance, finishing with 12 and 11 respectively. Most importantly, leading scorer Norman Powell only finished with six points for the Clippers. He's been the rock of that team and was invisible against the Thunder.

All OKC did in the second half was extend its lead. Both teams emptied their benches and the Thunder did what they had previously done all night -- get stops and attack the rim. The 116-98 victory would aid in the Thunder improving to 28-5 on the season.

Oklahoma City's next test is a big one against the New York Knicks at 7:00 p.m. CT at the Paycom Center tomorrow night.

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