The OKC Thunder are finally on board, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 108-94 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. After being initially ruled out of the game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a late addition to the squad after being cleared fit to play. This added some star power to the game after Paul George (illness) and Kawhi Leonard (knee) were ruled out.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put on a classy performance as he leads the OKC Thunder to a 108-94 victory to give the team their first win of the season.
For the first time this season, the OKC Thunder came out of the gates fast jumping to an 8-0 lead. The Clippers would make a run to draw even at 12-12 before Oklahoma City asserted some control to take a 23-18 lead at the end of the first.
The first seven minutes of the second quarter were ugly. Both teams were playing at pace, getting up and down the floor but were missing everything offensively. There were missed floaters, lay-ups, and some jumpers that didn’t draw iron. It all came to a standstill when the Clippers called a timeout with five minutes remaining level at 33-a-piece. Gilgeous-Alexander and Tre Mann re-entered and the OKC Thunder made a run at the end to take a 49-43 lead into halftime.
From there, Oklahoma City poured on the pressure. Mike Muscala got the ball rolling with four quick points before Gilgeous-Alexander went on to score 13 of his 33 points in the third stanza. This blew the game wide open with the Thunder leading by as much as 26 points. The Clippers made a small run to close the game but OKC was in full control up 84-68.
The fourth quarter was much of the same with the Thunder controlling proceedings and they did what they had to, securing the 108-94 victory to kick start their 2022-23 campaign.