Gilgeous-Alexander scores 31 and Thunder make franchise-record 27 3s in 137-101 rout of Pelicans
Gilgeous-Alexander scores 31 and Thunder make franchise-record 27 3s in 137-101 rout of Pelicans
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points in three quarters as the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the New Orleans Pelicans 137-101 on Monday night.
Oklahoma City hit a franchise-record 27 3-pointers, despite no individual making more than four. Eleven players drained at least one for a team that made 49% of its 55 3-point tries.
Aaron Wiggins scored 24 points and Jalen Williams added 16 for the Thunder, who won their sixth straight game.
Chet Holmgren had 12 points, six rebounds and five blocks in his second game back since missing three months with a fractured pelvic bone. The 7-foot-1 forward played 25 minutes — up from 22 last Friday against Toronto.
Oklahoma City improved to an NBA-best 43-9, while the Pelicans dropped to a Western Conference-worst 12-41.
Trey Murphy III scored 23 points and Zion Williamson added 17 for the Pelicans.
The Thunder led 72-50 at halftime and set an Oklahoma City record with 14 3-pointers in the first half. The Thunder nearly matched that with 13 in the second half.
Takeaways
Pelicans: With Dejounte Murray out for the season with a ruptured right Achilles tendon and CJ McCollum out for personal reasons, the Pelicans lacked the firepower to compete.
Thunder: Oklahoma City scored 40 points off 23 forced turnovers. The Thunder continue to force opponents into mistakes and now, with Holmgren back, they are elite at protecting the rim.
Key moment
Holmgren hit a 3-pointer for Oklahoma City’s first points, then had two emphatic blocks against Karlo Matkovic 30 seconds apart in the opening minutes of the game to set the tone defensively.
Key stat
The Thunder bench scored 31 points in the first half. Wiggins had 14 points and made two 3-pointers and Alex Caruso scored 12 points and hit four 3s before the break.
Up next
The Pelicans host Sacramento on Wednesday. The Thunder host Miami on Wednesday.
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This story has been corrected. A previous version had an incorrect final score.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
By CLIFF BRUNT
AP Sports Writer
