The Oklahoma City Thunder earned their 13th consecutive victory — and longest winning streak since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City — in a 116-98 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday, January 2 (Friday, January 3, Manila time).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points and Jalen Williams added 18 to help the Thunder move within one win of the franchise’s all-time longest winning streak.
Before becoming the Thunder in 2008, the 64-18 Seattle Supersonics notched 14 straight wins during the 1995-96 season from February 3 to March 6.
The Thunder, leading the NBA in points off turnovers, cranked up the heat defensively in the third quarter to take control. Oklahoma City forced 7 turnovers in the third and turned those into 17 points on the other end to help them outscore the Clippers, 42-20, in the frame. The Thunder scored 31 total points off turnovers in the win.
Los Angeles — missing James Harden (right groin soreness) for this contest — has lost back-to-back games. It was just Harden’s second missed game of the season.
Over the last two games, Oklahoma City has outscored its opponent 85-43 in the third.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 in the third, including 6 free throws. He finished 9 of 17 from the floor and made all 9 of his free throws.
But unlike Tuesday’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, there was no fourth-quarter push that put the game in jeopardy. That allowed Thunder coach Mark Daigneault to sit Gilgeous-Alexander for the entire fourth quarter on the first night of a back-to-back.
The Clippers’ leading scorer this season, Norman Powell, missed his first 10 shots and didn’t connect until four minutes into the fourth. The shooting guard finished with a season-low 6 points on 1-of-11 shooting.
Amir Coffey led Los Angeles with a season-high 26 points.
While the Clippers got off to a hot start offensively, making 7 of their first 10 shots, Oklahoma City was cold, especially from deep.
The Thunder sank just 1 of 9 shots from beyond the arc in the first quarter as Los Angeles finished the frame with a 10-2 run to take an eight-point lead into the second.
The Clippers continued to find success in the second, stretching the run to 20-4 to lead by 16 points early in the second.
But just as they did Tuesday, when Oklahoma City cut a 12-point second-quarter deficit in half by halftime, the Thunder entered the third quarter with some momentum.
Oklahoma City trimmed the deficit to 4 on Jalen Williams’ running pull-up jumper at the buzzer. Williams scored 18 for the Thunder, and they will look to win their 14th straight game on Friday against the New York Knicks. – Rappler.com