Despite being a 1.5-point favorite on the road against the LA Clippers, the Oklahoma City Thunder entered the game a bit short-handed. With no Jalen Williams and no Chet Holmgren, OKC had plenty of adjustments to make against a Clippers squad that had won 8 straight at the Intuit Dome.
The Clippers took an early double-digit lead against the Thunder, but by halftime, OKC had bounced back and taken a narrow lead. The two teams went to battle throughout the second half, and just when it looked like the Clippers were going to pull away, the Thunder managed to bounce back with the resiliency that they have shown time and time against this season before pulling out a 103-101 victory.
Stayed with it & found a way to win 🤝@ACFresh21 checks in with @NickAGallo post-game 🎤 pic.twitter.com/KcDQFu2FOv
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 24, 2025
Quarter Recap
First Quarter: Shot Won’t Fall for OKC While LA Cannot Miss
The Oklahoma City Thunder struggled to knock down shots early, and after keeping it close, trailing 14-12 inside the 5-minute mark of the period. The Clippers took off from there, though, knocking down shots from downtown and getting to the free-throw line to take a 34-24 lead heading into the second quarter.
Second Quarter: Thunder Hit Back to Take Lead Into Halftime
After the Clippers opened up the scoring in the second period, the Thunder managed to find some flow on offense despite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench. A 15-0 run by OKC fueled by 9 points from Aaron Wiggins put the Thunder on top 39-36. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander checked into the game midway through the quarter with OKC trailing 41-39. He scored 10 points in the quarter as the Clippers cooled off from downtown, giving the Thunder a 57-51 lead headed into halftime.
Big burst of energy to start the second period 🔥 pic.twitter.com/YiuCrlyJ0Q
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 24, 2025
Third Quarter: Both Teams Won’t Quit, Exchanging Hit After Hit
OKC extended their lead to 9 right out of the break thanks to a driving floater plus the free throw by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but the Clippers hit back with a James Harden three. The first half of the period was back-and-forth action from both teams, and a three by Luguentz Dort put OKC up 70-61 with 6:41 remaining in the period. The Clippers answered with a 9-0 run to tie it up at 70-70 before the OKC finished the quarter on top 81-77.
Fourth Quarter: OKC Survives Late Push by Clippers
Aaron Wiggins continued playing a great game to start the fourth, scoring 7 straight for OKC to give the Thunder an 88-81 lead with 9:54 left in the game. The Clippers would not go away, however, as they went on a 14-4 run to take a 95-92 lead with 4:47 to play, forcing OKC to call a timeout. The final minutes of the game featured more questionable calls than scoring, but Alex Caruso hit a clutch three, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was able to knock down a couple of free throws late to seal the 103-101 win for the Thunder.
AC in crunch time 💪 pic.twitter.com/jD1FxUFxsr
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 24, 2025
Key Player Stats
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: The MVP candidate had arguably his worst game of the season. Shooting a season-worst 24.1% from the field (7-of-29), he was still able to finish with 26 points thanks to knocking in 11-off-11 from the free throw line, including two with just a few seconds left in the game to seal the win. He also finished with 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, a block, and only 1 turnover.
- Aaron Wiggins: Another huge night off the bench for the man who saved basketball, Wiggins scored 19 points—most of them coming when OKC desperately needed scoring.
- Isaiah Hartenstein: Without Chet Holmgren to help out down low, IHart showed up big with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals.
- Alex Caruso: After a rough first quarter, Caruso had a pretty great rest of the game, finishing with 14 points—including a clutch 3 late in the game—to go with 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.
- Jaylin Williams: In just 15 minutes on the floor, JWill scored 12 points while knocking down 3-of-3 from downtown to go along with 7 rebounds.
- Kawhi Leonard: The Claw led the Clippers with an efficient 25 points on 10-of-20 (50%) from the field. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out 3 assists.
- James Harden: The Beard had some moments on his way to scoring 17 points, but he shot just 4-of-14 (28.6%) from the floor. He did end with 8 assists and 6 rebounds, but he had 6 turnovers.
Up Next
Oklahoma City continues its brief West Coast road trip with a stop in Sacramento on Tuesday to take on Zach Lavine and the Kings. Sacramento is an even .500 on the season at 35-35 as they sit at 9th in the Western Conference standings. With one of the toughest remaining schedules, the Kings are doing everything they can to stay in the hunt for at least a Play-In spot as Domantas Sabonis has been injured for most of March, playing just one full game out of 12 possible. That game will tip off at 9 PM and will be televised on TNT.