National Basketball Association
Oklahoma City 104, L.A. Clippers 103
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 18, 2021
Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Officials:
#82 Suyash Mehta, #23 Tre Maddox, #60 James Williams
Attendance:
15123
By Field Level Media
Luguentz Dort scored 29 and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the host Oklahoma City Thunder a 104-103 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.
In Wednesday's home loss to New Orleans, Gilgeous-Alexander hit a 3-pointer to tie the game in the closing seconds before the Pelicans' Devonte' Graham hit a desperation shot to end the game.
This time, Gilgeous-Alexander didn't leave any time.
The Clippers' Justise Winslow gave the Thunder an opening, missing a pair of free throws with 7.8 seconds to play and Los Angeles up two.
Gilgeous-Alexander grabbed the rebound, the Thunder called their final timeout to advance the ball up the court, and Gilgeous-Alexander finished it off with the 3-pointer to give the Thunder their first home win since Nov. 17.
The win was just the fourth in 17 games for Oklahoma City. The Clippers have lost two consecutive games.
The Thunder led for much of the game but Los Angeles turned up the heat defensively to take the lead in the fourth, forcing eight turnovers in the fourth.
That included one in the final minute, after the Thunder's Dort picked the ball away from Reggie Jackson and went barreling toward the basket with a chance to put Oklahoma City back up front.
But Dort lost the ball as he went up toward the basket, and Nicolas Batum took a feed from Jackson and drilled a 3-pointer at the other end to extend the lead to four with 33.8 seconds to play.
Instead of calling his final timeout with 17 seconds left after Jackson's 3-pointer, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault elected to let his team try to score quickly. Gilgeous-Alexander delivered with a driving layup, which ultimately helped set up his heroics to end the game.
Luke Kennard led the Clippers with a season-high 27 points, tying a career-high with seven 3-pointers. Terance Mann added 18 and Jackson 16.
Dort, who missed Wednesday's game with a left ankle injury, returned to go 12 of 19 from the floor. Gilgeous-Alexander added 18. Josh Giddey had 18 rebounds and 10 assists to go with eight points.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
L.A. Clippers |
|
Oklahoma City |
Luke Kennard 27 |
Scoring |
Luguentz Dort 29 |
Reggie Jackson 10 |
Assists |
Josh Giddey 10 |
Justise Winslow 9 |
Rebounds |
Josh Giddey 18 |
Terance Mann 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Darius Bazley 3 |
Reggie Jackson 4 |
Steals |
Luguentz Dort 2 |
Isaiah Hartenstein 2 |
Blocks |
Darius Bazley 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
L.A. Clippers
|
103 |
44.6 |
16-39 |
13-19 |
26 |
39 |
3 |
11 |
13 |
Oklahoma City
|
104 |
46.7 |
12-31 |
6-10 |
23 |
55 |
4 |
4 |
16 |
Upcoming Games
-
Oklahoma City will play their next game on the road against Memphis. The Thunder have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .250 after a loss.
-
L.A. Clippers will play their next game at home against San Antonio. The Clippers have a W/L % of .562 after a win and .500 after a loss.