Thunder 119-109 Pelicans (December 7, 2024) Game Recap

NEW ORLEANS – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 of his 31 points in the first quarter and Jalen Williams added 27 to give the Oklahoma City Thunder a 119-109 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night.

The Thunder built a 77-51 halftime lead by dominating New Orleans in play and transition to win for the seventh time in eight games.

Dejounte Murray scored 26 points and Herb Jones added 24 for the Pelicans, who committed 18 turnovers and lost for the 16th time in 18 games.

New Orleans cut its deficit to 99-80 by outscoring the Thunder 29-22 in the third quarter to make it 114-105 with 3:31 left. The Thunder scored five goals in a row to pull away.

Takeaways

Thunder: OKC outscored the Pelicans 40-18 and led by 26 points at halftime. The Thunder shot 67.4% (29 of 43) in the half, with 19 layups.

Pelicans: New Orleans committed six turnovers in the first 5:42 and trailed 20-5. Things never got better. Leading scorer Brandon Ingram (23.2), who had just returned from a right foot injury, left 17 seconds into the third quarter after landing awkwardly on Lu Dort’s foot and twisting his left ankle. He had five points.

Key moment

Six of Gilgeous-Alexander’s first seven field goals were layups, and the other was a 3-pointer during a 16-point outburst in the first quarter. The Thunder led 35-23 after the first game and secured the victory. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 or more points in his 11th game this season.

Key statistics

The Thunder entered the game with an NBA-best 12.1 steals per game and had 13 against New Orleans.

Next

The Thunder host Dallas on Tuesday night in the first round of the NBA Emirates Cup knockout round. The Pelicans play the Spurs on Sunday in San Antonio.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba