Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) celebrates during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Jalen Williams scored a season-high 31 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 106-88 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA on Wednesday in Oklahoma City.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 29 points, including a 3-foot basket off the glass off transition that began with a Gilgeous-Alexander blocking Brandon Boston Jr.’s dunk attempt on the other end. The basket made it 101-79 Thunder with 3:20 to play, putting an exclamation point on a dominating performance two days after Gilgeous-Alexander posted a career-high 45 points.
Williams added seven assists, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
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The Thunder, who are 2-0 since Chet Holmgren suffered a broken pelvis in Sunday’s loss to Golden State, rode its defense to Wednesday’s win.
Oklahoma City forced 24 New Orleans turnovers and turned them into 29 points, outscoring the Pelicans 34-2 on the fast break.
The Pelicans managed just four points off seven Oklahoma City turnovers and didn’t score their lone fast-break basket until late in the fourth quarter.
Indicative of the Thunder’s defensive dominance, Boston committed six turnovers in 31 minutes in the loss. He had six in Pelicans’ first eight games combined entering Wednesday.
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He was elevated into a bigger ball-handling role with Jose Alvarado lost to injury earlier in the week.
The game was tied 59-59 less than three minutes into the third quarter before Oklahoma City reeled off 16 consecutive points to grab control for good. The Pelicans turned the ball over five times in the stretch.
Brandon Ingram led New Orleans with 18 points and six assists but had eight turnovers.
The Pelicans have lost six consecutive games and nine of their last 10.
New Orleans got off to a quick start, jumping out to an 18-6 lead less than five minutes into the game, with eight points from Ingram during that stretch.
But the Thunder closed the quarter with a 27-10 run to hold a 33-28 lead after the first 12 minutes.
The Pelicans shot just 39.5 percent from the floor, their third sub-40 percent shooting game of the season. –Field Level Media