No Chet Holmgren. Or Isaiah Hartenstein. Or Jaylin Williams.
The Oklahoma City Thunder may be shorthanded along the frontline, but they are a team with incredible depth — and they have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He went off for a career-high 45 points plus nine assists to lift the Thunder past the visiting Clippers, 134-128.
SHAI CAREER-HIGH 45 PTS 🔥🔥@shaiglalex (45p, 9a, 5s) becomes the first player in OKC history with 45+ PTS and 5+ STL in a game! pic.twitter.com/h2lVYh1RAp
— NBA (@NBA) November 12, 2024
Shai on career-high: “It didn’t feel special… felt like another basketball game”
— Law Murray 🕯️ (@LawMurrayTheNU) November 12, 2024
In their first full game without Holmgren (out with a fractured hip), Oklahoma City went small, with guys 6'6" and under most of the game, and just tried to run the Clippers out of the building. It worked, OKC was in control of this one most of the way, but the Clippers made a run near the end of the third quarter, including closing the third out on an 11-2 run, and got the lead down to three. Norman Powell scored 31 points to lead the Clippers, while James Harden had 17 points (on 5-of-15 shooting), 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Jalen Williams scored 28 points for the Thunder, Lu Dort added 19.
