No Chet Holmgren, no problem for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 134-128 on Monday, improving to 9-2. The Thunder won thanks to a big night from superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whose career-high 45 points pushed the team to victory. Moreover, their small-ball lineup had their hands full with Ivica Zubac and a Clipper team who shot 55% from the field and 54.1% from three, and who grabbed 18 more rebounds. Still, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault credited SGA for his evolution as the leader of the team.
“You guys would be shocked at how little I coach him,” the coach said, via Thunder beat writer Brandon Rahbar on X, formerly Twitter. “He is the best person to drive his development plan. Because no one cares more about his game than he does.”
SGA’s career night leads Thunder past Clippers
Besides Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder also relied on Jalen Williams, who scored 28 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished six dimes against the Clippers.
The Clips have no Kawhi Leonard for the foreseeable future, but they are an incredibly resilient team who plays hard every night, and the Thunder had to focus on their defensive effort amid Zubac’s emergence, Harden’s playmaking, and Norman Powell’s sizzling start.
“I think what they lean back on is that they’re highly competitive,” Mark Daigneault said, via Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. “They want to win. And they’re highly connected. So they’re gonna do whatever it takes to win, and they’re gonna do it together.”
Additionally, the Thunder’s swarming defense limited Harden to 17 points on 5-15 shooting, while fouling out Powell, though he did score 31 points. Zubac had to carry most of the offensive load, and he scored 22 points on 12 shots in 34 minutes.
Still, Mark Daigneault’s adjustments to the Thunder’s small-ball defense, and SGA’s dominance on offense proved too much for the pesky Clippers squad.
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SGA also commented on evolving his game after the win.
“Every great player fights trying to find a balance between when to score, take over, and when to make the right play to get your teammates involved, and it’s something that I continue to work on and continue to get better at,” the superstar said. “Both of them work hand in hand.”
The Thunder plan to continue winning amid Holmgren’s absence against the Zion Williamson-less and the Dejounte Murray-less New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.
