Thunder Fall Short in Tight Game Against Pelicans

In their 23rd clutch game of the season, the Thunder lost the the Trail Blazers 128-125.

The Oklahoma City Thunder played their final game ahead of Christmas against the shorthanded New Orleans Pelicans. The Thunder came back from down 21-points to overtake the lead in the final frame, but overtime struck and the Thunder fell short. The Pelicans won with a final score of 128-125.

The first half proved to be a struggle offensively for the Thunder, as they finished the half down 64-46. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 18 first half points. No other Thunder had more than six points.

On the Pelicans end, they had three double-digit scorers at halftime, led by Naji Marshall with 12 points on 3-of-7 shooting.

The Thunder shot 2-of-15 on 3-pointers in the half, which was telling of how their half went. They got down by 21 points then cut the deficit to 11 points before losing their comeback getting cut short by the Pelicans.

With the third quarter coming around, the Thunder started Lindy Waters III in place of Jalen Williams in hope. This adjustment alone wasn’t the difference, but the Thunder crawled back to down just three points before the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter began and Tre Mann, who scored 75 points in two games with the Oklahoma City Blue recently, knocked down a 3-pointer to tie up the game. They then took the lead and didn’t look back. The game came down to clutch time, where the Pelicans tied the game with around 26 seconds left in the game.

For the Thunder’s final play of regulation, Tre Mann dribbled out the clock, SGA came up as a decoy, and Mann took the isolation which ended up with a short missed layup. With confusion from officials, the game was sent to overtime.

There were plenty of buckets in the overtime period, and it helped Gilgeous-Alexander cross the 40-point mark. However, the Pelicans outlasted the Thunder after big minutes from Jaxson Hayes.

The Thunder would eventually have a chance to tie the game, but the Thunder had a scuffed play that ended up with two missed two-pointers. Gilgeous-Alexander then got a final heave of a deep three to tie the game but fell just short. 

This was the Thunder’s 23rd clutch game of the season, and they’ve got a record of 10-13 in those games now.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was incredible in this game, as he scored 44 points on 17-of-29 shooting. He added nine rebounds and six assists. He’s scored 30 or more points in 21 games this season and scored his fourth 40-point game of his career. His 44 points are a career-high.

Among other notable performances, Aleksej Pokusevski tied his season high in points with 17 points. Josh Giddey added 20 points of his own. All five starter were in double-figures scoring for the Thunder. 

The Thunder are now 14-19 on the season and will take on the San Antonio Spurs on December 27th for their next bit of action.

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