OKLAHOMA CITY — Even with Kobe Sanders and Nicolas Batum closing in, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t care. He swished in a step back 3-pointer in the final seconds of the third quarter for his last bucket. He pointed to the OKC bench and pumped out his signature outside bucket celebration.

After a slow start, the Oklahoma City Thunder collected a 122-101 win over the LA Clippers. It was a double whammy as the reigning NBA champions helped their 2026 NBA draft lottery odds, too.

“I just thought the intensity and the pressure really amped up in the second quarter. We may not have had the steals to show for it, but we were just a little behind the ball in the first quarter and in the second, that group to start did a really good job,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “Obviously, in the third, pretty good tone to start. But that group to end the third was pretty outstanding. Thought we really had our intensity going.”

Things were pretty sleepy at the start. Bogdan Bogdanovic knocked down an outside jumper as OKC was in a 10-2 deficit less than two minutes into the game. The Thunder looked like a team that had an impromptu four-day break after the NBA Cup. They were in a 33-27 deficit after the first quarter.

After that, the Thunder woke up. They score 37 points in the second frame. The OKC bench lineup provided a jolt of energy with Alex Caruso and Ajay Mitchell. Meanwhile, Chet Holmgren looked Dirk-esque with some of his turnaround jumpers that swished in.

As his jumper took a while to get going, Gilgeous-Alexander morphed into a shot-blocker. He met with Ivica Zubac mid-air on the textbook block he conjured up. That got the momentum going on the other end. The Thunder entered halftime with a 64-55 lead over the Clippers.

After the break, the Clippers held their own for a bit. Kawhi Leonard’s unreal shot-making kept them within striking distance. Going to the baseline for his signature mid-range jumper, he flooded back several nostalgic memories of being one of the NBA’s best players. Alas, that was a half-decade ago. That inevitably slowed down.

The Thunder eventually went on their avalanche run. They had a 25-8 run to balloon their lead. No James Harden finally reared its ugly head for LA. OKC went into ball-hawk mode as it created turnover after turnover. Caruso’s steal-andscore sequence put them up 88-76 with a little under four minutes left in the third frame.

That only escalated. Branden Carlson threw down a loud jam. Gilgeous-Alexander finessed his way to a layup. The OKC game ops crew played ‘Titanium’ as LA spammed timeouts. The Thunder scored 39 points in the third quarter. In the blink of an eye, they had a 103-83 lead over the Clippers.

Sitting on 30-plus points, Gilgeous-Alexander sat out another fourth quarter. Holmgren and Williams did enough in the second unit minutes to stiff-arm the Clippers on the scoreboard. They led by as many as 25 points. The Thunder only scored 19 points in the final frame, which was pretty forgettable.

To put a nice bow on things, Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe took turns creating a couple of more steals each in the final 79 seconds of the game. Such a fitting way to end this game that saw the Thunder flat-out bully the Clippers for their poor ball security.

The Thunder shot 48% from the field and went 13-of-36 (36.1%) from 3. They shot 13-of-16 on free throws. They had 28 assists on 48 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with an efficient 32 points. Holmgren had an efficient 22 points and seven rebounds. Williams tallied 20 points and five assists. Mitchell totaled 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Joe scored 14 points in his return.

Meanwhile, the Clippers shot 49% from the field and went 10-of-32 (31.3%) from 3. They shot 17-of-22 on free throws. They had 25 assists on 37 baskets. Five Clippers players scored double-digit points.

Leonard had 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists. John Collins finished with 20 points and four rebounds. Zubac tallied an 11-point and 11-rebound double-double. Bogdanovic scored 14 points. Kris Dunn turned in 14 points, five rebounds and four assists.

This is why the Thunder are viewed as the NBA’s best team and the Clippers are viewed as one of the biggest dumpster fires. Even with the lackadaisical start, the championship talent eventually showed against one of the league’s oldest squads.

They’re likely numb to it, but add this to the long list of regrets for why the Clippers set their franchise back by dealing Gilgeous-Alexander for Paul George in the 2019 blockbuster deal. And if they continue to fall in the standings, they could hand-deliver the reigning NBA champion a premium draft pick.

“A lot of different guys had their fingerprints on the win tonight. You never know what stretch is going to open a game up for you or open up a game and that’s why you got to stack as many possessions as you can through 48 minutes,” Daigneault said. “I thought we hung with the game tonight. We were a little rustier, slower to start and then we got it going.”