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Thunder Make Franchise History With Impressive 49-Point First Quarter vs. Pelicans

That’s one way to make an early statement.

Madison Williams

The Thunder scored a franchise record 49 points in a single quarter.
The Thunder scored a franchise record 49 points in a single quarter. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
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The reigning NBA champion Thunder are making a strong case to win the title again this season, even if it is only about a month into the 2025-26 season. Monday night’s game against the Pelicans certainly didn’t hurt Oklahoma City’s case.

In the first quarter alone, the Thunder combined to score 49 points—the most points scored in a single quarter in franchise history. On the other side of the court, New Orleans posted 24 points in that same quarter.

The NBA record is held by the Warriors, who scored 55 points in the first quarter of a game in 2023. The Thunder were just shy of that record.

The Thunder didn’t live up to the first quarter expectations as the team scored 20 points in the second quarter to post a halftime score of 69–56.

Oklahoma City is looking to win its 14th game of the season. Regardless of the outcome, the Thunder continue to hold on to the best record in the NBA so far this season. It helps when the team can post historic quarters like they did on Monday night.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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