OKC Fends Off Late Push, Defeats New Orleans on the Road

The Oklahoma City Thunder buried the New Orleans Pelicans in the first half, and survived a late push in the second, walking away with a 119-109 victory on the road.

Based on the first four minutes of the first quarter, it seemed like New Orleans wouldn't have a chance to win. OKC got out to a 10-0 start, with star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring six of those first 10. Halfway through the quarter, New Orleans scored only five points compared to Oklahoma City's 20.

The first half belonged to Gilgeous-Alexander. He scored 23 points in the half and only missed one of his nine shot attempts. He basically got everything he wanted to fall to go in and had an excellent shot selection. His other backcourt member, guard Jalen Williams, had a great first half as well. He scored 16 points on an efficient 6-for-9 half.

New Orleans tried to make up some ground to start the third quarter, but each time they made a shot, OKC responded. Dejounte Murray scored the first five points to open up the half, which didn't appear to matter at the time.

Coming off a hot first half, Gilgeous-Alexander did not have his name called as much in the second. He scored only eight points in the second part of the game and finished with 31 in total. Without his first-half performance, however, the blowout would not have ensued. Because of the large lead, the Thunder did not have to play its best players, limiting the minutes Gilgeous-Alexander and company played in the second half.

Murray's quick second-half scoring burst would prove beneficial later in the game, scoring 13 in the third quarter. He finished with 26 points on 8-for-15 shooting on the night in his best efforts to keep the score close. A combination of mid-range scoring and attempts around the rim was what his scoring total was comprised of.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams did most of the scoring, but center Isaiah Hartenstein was a huge force on the glass. He grabbed 12 rebounds against New Orlean's physical rookie center and former Baylor Bear, Yves Missi. Missi scored only eight points and was limited in the paint. Hartenstein scored 12 himself, outperforming him in that area. Oklahoma City also finished ahead of the Pelicans in total rebounds, grabbing 45 compared to the Pelicans' 35.

The Thunder continued to hold onto its lead, even with different lineups than usual. OKC pushed out a lineup of Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace and Williams for the majority of the quarter. During this time, the Pelicans did manage a small run, hitting two straight threes and getting to the rim two others. Lead guard C.J. McCollum and forward Herb Jones were the two main contributors in narrowing the fourth-quarter lead.

Gilgeous-Alexander sat out for the entire fourth quarter until the six-minute mark, with New Orleans giving Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault a reason to do so. He didn't add much to the scoreboard, scoring only four points after checking in, but his general presence was important in finishing out the game. The late push certainly gave the Thunder a scare, but OKC still managed to hold on and win.

The Thunder improved to 18-5 after the win and face off against the Dallas Mavericks at 8:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at home in an NBA Cup matchup.

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