OKLAHOMA CITY — After Lu Dort won a jump ball against James Harden, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander launched it across the court to Cason Wallace. The impressive catch was quickly passed out to Jalen Williams for the running dunk in the final seconds.

The transition bucket was the exclamation mark for the Oklahoma City Thunder’s much-needed 134-128 win over the LA Clippers. The back-andforth affair was a nice distraction from an otherwise apocalyptic day with Chet Holmgren’s hip fracture.

“It was a gutsy win. We kept the scoreboard moving. Stops were harder to come by at a certain point in the second half,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “After we extended that lead into the third and fourth, they started drilling shots. I think they gained some rhythm and confidence. We had a hard time turning them off, but we moved the scoreboard on offense.”

The Thunder held a 25-24 lead after the first quarter. A 41-point second frame added to OKC’s lead. It had a 66-53 halftime advantage. Following the break, Williams added a mid-range jumper and dunk in the opening seconds. Suddenly, the Thunder’s lead ballooned to 17 points.

The Thunder dominated the Clippers and possessed a 20-point lead at multiple points in the second half. Harden struggled and the rest of LA’s squad couldn’t generate buckets. It felt like a blowout was imminent.

Then, the Clippers clicked. A 22-8 run headlined a 41-point third period for them.

A sidestep corner 3-pointer by an on-fire Norman Powell cut OKC’s lead to 99-94 entering the fourth quarter. The Thunder created breathing room with an 11-3 run to start the fourth frame. Dort’s corner 3-pointer pushed their lead to 110-99 with less than eight minutes left.

From that point forward, it was a game of catch-up for LA. OKC stiffarmed each attempted comeback. The closest the Clippers would get to the Thunder on the scoreboard was within three points with a little over two minutes left.

That’s when Gilgeous-Alexander hit a nasty stepback 3-pointer to give the Thunder a six-point lead with less than two minutes left. The 26-year-old scored a career-high points and received loud ‘MVP’ chants at the free-throw line. He’ll need more performances like these with Holmgren out.

The Thunder shot 52% from the field and went 18-of-46 (39.1%) from 3. They had 31 assists on 47 baskets. Six Thunder players scored double- digit points. What OKC lacked in size, it made up in steals with 16. LA committed 24 turnovers.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-best 45 points. Williams had a loud 28 points. Dort scored 19 points. Alex Caruso and Isaiah Joe had 12 points apiece. Aaron Wiggins had 10 points. Joe and Wiggins received the starts.

“He’s got a chance to be a great player,” Daigneault said about Williams. “What makes him great is how round-ed his game is. He’s good at a lot of things. Offense, defense, he’s versatile, guard at a lot of spots. He can facilitate. He can guard on the ball, off the ball. He can finish, he can shoot, he can play in the mid-range. There’s really nothing on the basketball court he can’t do.”

Meanwhile, the Clippers had their best offensive outing of the season. They shot 55% from the field and went 20-of-37 (54.1%) from 3. They had 31 assists on 41 baskets. Five Clippers players scored double-digit points.

Harden was limited to 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Powell had a slow start but caught fire. He finished with 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Ivica Zubac had a monster 22-point and 14-rebound double-double. Derrick Jones Jr. scored 20 points.

The Thunder will experiment with small-ball lineups until Isaiah Hartenstein returns sometime in the next few weeks. That is the situation they’re in. Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams must be a killer one-two combo for the next three months. This was a good first trial of that.

“We stayed in it,” Daigneault said. “I didn’t think the execution was great, but I did think the compete level and connectiveness was outstanding.”

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a careerhigh 45 points on 13-of-21 shooting, nine assists, five steals, three re-bounds and two blocks. He shot 4-of-8 from 3 and 15-of-16 from the free-throw line. He’s the first player in NBA history with that stat line.

“It didn’t feel special. Didn’t feel like I did something I’ve never done before,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on his career high. “Felt like another basketball game. Felt like I should’ve had more. Missed some easy shots.”

Jalen Williams has had an up-and-down start to his season. That was fine because he had a margin to work with. It didn’t affect OKC’s record as it sat atop for most of the start of the year. But with Holmgren out, that luxury will no longer be afforded.

Through one game without the seven-footer, the 23-year-old stepped up as OKC’s clear-cut second scorer. He finished with a season-high 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting, eight rebounds and six assists. He shot 2-of-3 from 3 and went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.

Williams went off for 13 points in the fourth quarter. He was the perfect Robin to Gilgeous-Alexander’s

Batman down the stretch. Serving as the starting center, the 23-year-old scored most of his buckets near the rim.

Lu Dort’s stayed on his heater. He’s been hot from the outside during this homestand. He finished with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He shot 4-of-8 from 3.

The Thunder will play the Pelicans tonight at 6:30 p.m.

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