Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 104-95 home win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday to snap a two-game losing streak.
The loss halted the Pelicans’ two-game winning streak.
Chet Holmgren helped the Thunder create some separation in the third quarter, scoring 14 of his 20 points and pulling down seven of his 14 rebounds in the quarter.
Ten of Oklahoma City’s 31 third-quarter points came on second chances.
The Thunder had just two offensive rebounds in the first half but had 11 after the break, helping lead to 21 second-chance points.
After being outrebounded by 11 in the first half, Oklahoma City won the second-half rebounding battle 30-20.
Holmgren also finished with five blocks and three assists.
The Thunder extended their lead to 17 early in the fourth quarter, but New Orleans responded with a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to six with less than six minutes remaining.
Jeremiah Fears, who starred at nearby Oklahoma last year as a freshman before making the leap to the NBA, helped fuel the Pelicans’ run, with four quick points to start the stretch, the second basket after his own steal.
Fears had another steal late in the run, leading to a Herbert Jones 3-pointer.
The rookie then drained another 3-pointer with just more than five minutes remaining to cut the deficit to five.
But New Orleans couldn’t get any closer.
The Thunder won despite shooting just 40.2% from the field, their fourth-lowest shooting performance of the season and their worst in a win.
The Pelicans were just 34.3% from the field, their second lowest of the season.
Isaiah Joe added 17 points off the bench in the win, while Jaylin Williams pulled down 10 rebounds.
Zion Williamson had 21 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans, going 8 of 11 from the floor.
But the rest of the Pelicans’ starters were just 14 of 59.
Gilgeous-Alexander had a rough start, missing his first five shots and not connecting from the field until early in the second quarter.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished just 8 of 22 from the field but hit 13 of 14 from the free-throw line.
