Thunder Earn Victory in Gilgeous-Alexander's Return

With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams back on the floor, Oklahoma City took down the Pelicans 110-96 on Saturday night in New Orleans. OKC's victory moves the team's season record to 32-35.

For the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 35 points, six rebounds, four steals, two assists and one block. Veteran guard CJ McCollum was the Pelican's leading scorer, tallying 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

The Thunder jumped out to a 17-12 lead in the first half of the first quarter. After Gilgeous-Alexander's third steal in the first six minutes, New Orleans called a timeout trailing by five.

Out of the timeout, Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas nailed a 3-pointer to cut OKC's lead to two. Oklahoma City managed to maintain its lead, going up by six after a stepback midrange shot from SGA a few moments later.

After a slow stretch for the Thunder offense, the squad picked up the paced at the end of the quarter, scoring nine points in the final two minutes and five seconds. Heading into the second period, the away team led 32-22.

New Orleans went on a 6-0 run to start the second quarter, cutting OKC's lead to four. After a triple from Lindy Waters III a few moments later, however, the Oklahoma City had an 11 point lead, their largest of the game.

Rookie wing Ousmane Dieng entered the game midway through the second quarter, knocking down two free throws to push the Thunder's advantage to 47-34. After three more free throws from Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC's lead ballooned to 16.

After a 13-2 run put Oklahoma City up by 19, the Pelicans called a timeout with just over three minutes left in the half. With the Thunder up 57-36, Trey Murphy III finished a dunk to end a six minute period that saw New Orleans score only two points.

On the final play of the first half, Jalen Williams hit a floater at the buzzer, sending Pelicans big man Jaxson Hayes to the ground with a pump fake in the process. At the break, OKC held a 63-44 advantage behind 23 points from Gilgeous-Alexander.

Oklahoma City maintained its advantage in the third quarter, going ahead 78-58 after two free throws from SGA. A triple from McCollum two minutes later cut the deficit to 14, resulting in a timeout from Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault.

Out of the timeout, big man Dario Saric dished a bounce pass to Lu Dort, who was cutting to the basket on the baseline, for an easy dunk. After a 3-pointer by New Orleans rookie Dyson Daniels, sharpshooter Isaiah Joe answered with a triple of his own.

Heading into the final frame, OKC led the Pelicans 87-72.

After New Orleans scored to open the fourth quarter, a 3-pointer by Josh Giddey put Oklahoma City back up by 16. With just over seven minutes left in the game, New Orleans brought the score to 94-82, followed by another timeout from Daigneault.

With less than six minutes left in the game, a 3-pointer from McCollum cut the deficit to single digits. Two free throws on the other end of the floor from Jalen Williams pushed the Thunder lead back to double digits.

A triple from Joe on the ensuing possession kept the Pelicans at arms length, but the home team would not go away quietly. With OKC's lead at 10, Dort caught an elbow to the face from McCollum that resulted in a pair of free throw attempts and gave Oklahoma City the ball back after a defensive stop from New Orleans.

This proved to be the dagger for the Pelicans, who brought the lead to single digits after trailing by as many as 21. In the end, the Thunder topped New Orleans 110-96.

The Thunder return to action against the Spurs on Sunday night at 6 p.m. in San Antonio.

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