Defensive Clinic Leads OKC Thunder to Blowout Win over the Pelicans

Although it didn't come easy, the Oklahoma City Thunder still managed to pull off a 107-83 win over the New Orleans Pelicans in a defensive clinic. 

The Thunder shot just 30% from 3-point range, but through its defensive prowess and capitalization of forced turnovers, the struggles from behind the arc hardly mattered by the end of the fourth quarter. It held the Pelicans to an even worse shooting night of 25%, helping cancel out the stat.

As typical of this season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for Oklahoma City with 31 points, four rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block on 10-of-21 shooting from the field. He was the only common thread for the Thunder for the entirety of the game, consistently coming through with crucial buckets and plays.

In the absence of Pelicans star Zion Williamson, Chet Holmgren also had himself a night. The rookie scored 20 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks and a steal on 9-of-16 shooting, getting to the basket with relative ease and knocking down a pair of triples. 

Both teams struggled out of the gate offensively, each shooting 8-of-23 from the field and barely scoring over 20 points in the first quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander was the saving grace, scoring 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting. 

The slow offense continued into the second quarter, although Oklahoma City was able to get more momentum going than New Orleans could. Its defense really stepped up to the occasion, capitalizing on forced turnovers and holding the Pelicans to just 41 points in the entire half.  

The Thunder truly began breaking away from the Pelicans in the third quarter, even if the 3-ball was non existent. It found other ways to score, especially from the free-throw line and points off turnovers. Gilgeous-Alexander had another fantastic quarter of offense, scoring 11 points on a couple of tough baskets.

Holmgren and Jalen Williams opened up the fourth quarter by taking turns with the basketball, hitting fadeaway jumpers and 3-pointers right and left. The lead continued to grow as the clock ticked away, resulting in a substantially simple win to close out. 

The Thunder will head to Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 28 at 1 p.m. CT to play the Pistons (5-39) in Little Caesars Arena. Both teams are in very different situations midway through the season, and Oklahoma City will look to continue winning to reach the No. 1 seed again. 

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