FILE–Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 andJaylin Williams #6 of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ian Maule/Getty Images/AFP
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-110 win over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
The Thunder swept the two-game set against the Clippers, clinching at least a split of the season series for the first time since 2018-19. Host Oklahoma City downed Los Angeles 108-94 on Tuesday.
Luguentz Dort added a season-high 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting for the Thunder. Aleksej Pokusevski contributed 15 points, Tre Mann scored 14, Kenrich Williams had 12 and Aaron Wiggins finished with 11.
Oklahoma City hit a season-high 17 3-pointers, shooting 44.7 percent from beyond the arc.
The Thunder scored 31 points off Los Angeles’ 20 turnovers.
The Clippers cut the deficit to one with a little more than five minutes remaining before Pokusevski’s step-back 3-pointer followed by Gilgeous-Alexander’s steal and layup a few moments later helped the Thunder grab control for good.
❝We did the things that got us a W in the first game.❞ pic.twitter.com/YsDrcq9Xw1
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 28, 2022
Norman Powell scored 21 points to lead the Clippers, who have lost three consecutive games. Reggie Jackson scored 18, John Wall had 17, Ivica Zubac added 12 and Luke Kennard wound up with 10. Zubac grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds.
Paul George, who missed the Clippers’ Tuesday loss in Oklahoma City due to illness, returned but struggled, shooting 4 of 12 from the floor and missing all four of his 3-point attempts. He finished with 10 points.
Los Angeles was without Kawhi Leonard (knee injury management) and Marcus Morris Sr. (personal) for the second consecutive game.
The Thunder got off to a quick start, jumping ahead 30-12 just more than nine minutes into the game while taking advantage of nine Clippers turnovers in the opening quarter.
Two nights after going just 4 of 30 from behind the 3-point arc, the Thunder hit 6 of 10 3-point tries in the first quarter.
The lead steadily dissipated, down to nine by late in the first quarter, and then Los Angeles battled back to take its first lead of the game with just more than two minutes to play in the first half. Reggie Jackson’s dunk put the Clippers on top 52-51.
The Clippers finished out the first half on a 21-5 run to take a 60-53 lead into the break.
Gilgeous-Alexander picked up his fourth foul in the final minute of the half and started the second half on the bench.
The Thunder didn’t attempt a free throw until nearly two minutes into the fourth quarter.