Rough Play From The Thunder's Bench Limits Any Chance Of A Win

Oklahoma City's bench only combined for 10 points on the night.

Nov 13, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) drives to the basket against Los Angeles Clippers center Brook Lopez (11) during the third quarter at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Thunder needed more from its second group on Friday night. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder have unfortunately continued their current losing streak, as the team could not get the job done against the Clippers, losing 113-112. It was a tight battle for the duration of the game, as no team could shake the other. The Thunder came storming into the game after halftime with a 40-point third quarter, but it wasn’t enough to shake LA, with the Clippers winning the fourth quarter. 

The starting five for Oklahoma City did all they could to try and snap this losing streak. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander might have missed the game-winning bucket, but he was not the reason for the loss. The star had 40 points with five assists, four rebounds and a steal. Jared McCain helped round out the backcourt, as he was on fire from three, hitting seven shots from deep and ending with 23 points. 

The starting frontcourt was also locked in for OKC, as both Aday Mara and Isaiah Hartenstein had great games. Mara had 10 points and held it down on the defensive end with three blocks. Hartenstein had an even better game with 21 points on 90% shooting from the floor. He added 16 rebounds to his resume to accomplish a double-double, and also added six assists to round out the day. 

This performance from the starting group was incredible and should have been enough to power OKC to the finish line of this game; however, they just had no help at all from the second group. 

Oklahoma City’s bench only combined for 10 points in this bout, and that was only between two players. Alex Caruso had five of those points, but only made one of his nine shot attempts. Bennett Stirtz had the other five points, but it just wasn’t enough. 

This has been the story of Oklahoma City’s season, as the Thunder have been injury-riddled and haven’t had their usual stars available to step up. While OKC role players have stepped up in other games, the team has still been inconsistent to start the season and hasn’t looked like the same Thunder team in years past. 

The Thunder could easily still turn this around and make a push for the postseason, but not with the way the team has been playing. Friday night taught OKC that it will truly take a team effort and can’t just be a handful of guys who win games for the Thunder.