Thunder Earn Tough Victory Over Golden State Amidst Poor Shooting Night

It wasn't OKC's prettiest victory, but they remain at the top of the Western Conference after knocking off Golden State.

Nov 27, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) lays up the ball infant over Golden State Warriors forward Kyle Anderson (1) and guard Gary Payton II (0) during the first half at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images / John Hefti-Imagn Images

A matchup full of runs and a narrow finish between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors resulted in the Thunder winning 105-101, barely walking out of the Chase Center with a victory.

Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took over the game early, scoring 12 first half points, all of them inside the perimeter while going 6-for-8 in the quarter. He added seven more for a total of 19 first half points, doing it in several ways, only making one triple on four attempts. He only attempted three free throws as well, making two.

There was a point in the second quarter, specifically with 5:24 remaining in the half, where it looked like OKC would run away with the game. Gilgeous-Alexander had just added two more points to the scoreboard and Golden State forward Draymond Green was just assessed a technical foul. The tide had turned in favor of Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder and with under 30 minutes of game time remaining, it looked like another win was on the way.

Simply put, that was not the case. The Warriors, led by guard Buddy Hield and forward Jonathan Kuminga, stormed back. Golden State got the game to 12 points, trailing 62-50 heading into the break.

All night, the Warriors found its scoring through Kuminga, Hield and forward Aaron Wiggins. Kuminga finished with 19 points on 8-for-21 shooting, Hield 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting and Wiggins 16 pitched in points as well. Without future Hall of Fame guard Steph Curry, head coach Steve Kerr was forced to find scoring in other areas. He did so with that trio.

Kuminga and Wiggins came out swinging early in the third quarter, soon only trailing by seven points five minutes into the period. Second-year guard Brandin Podziemski also found his footing in the third quarter, scoring eight points in that time frame, two of which contested shots at the rim. With the quarter winding down, Oklahoma City's inability to stop Kuminga and get the ball in the hands of Gilgeous-Alexander found the Thunder up by only one point, leading 84-83.

Consistent struggles from the perimeter plagued OKC's entire matchup. They shot 11-for-37 on the night and its three best perimeter shooters, Aaron Wiggins, Lu Dort and Ajay Mitchell, made only one three on eight attempts between the trio.

Gilgeous-Alexander struggled to replicate his first-half success in the second half at first but picked it up late in the game. He scored 16 points in the final two quarters for an overall total of 35. His scoring presence would prove vital down the stretch as the two top Western Conference squads clashed.

That remained the case for the waning moments of the fourth quarter, but Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder did just enough to walk away with a victory over Golden State.

OKC's next matchup is on Friday, Nov. 29 at 9:00 p.m. CT against the Los Angeles Lakers on the road.

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