NEW ORLEANS -- — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 of his 31 points in the first quarter and Jalen Williams added 27 to power the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 119-109 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night.

The Thunder built a 77-51 halftime lead by dominating New Orleans in the paint and in transition, and won for the seventh time in eight games.

Dejounte Murray scored 26 points and Herb Jones added 24 for the Pelicans, who committed 18 turnovers and lost for the 16th time in 18 games.

New Orleans cut its deficit to 99-80 with by outscoring the Thunder 29-22 in third quarter and got as close as 114-105 with 3:31 left. The Thunder scored five straight to pull away.

Takeaways

Thunder: OKC outscored the Pelicans 40-18 in the paint and led by 26 points at halftime. The Thunder shot 67.4% in the half (29 of 43), with 19 layups.

Pelicans: New Orleans committed six turnovers in the first 5:42 and trailed 20-5. It never got better. Leading scorer Brandon Ingram (23.2), who had just returned from right foot injury, left 17 seconds into the third quarter after landing awkwardly on Lu Dort’s foot and twisting his left ankle. He had five points.

Key moment

Six of Gilgeous-Alexander’s first seven field goals were layups, and the other was a 3-point during a 16-point, first-quarter outburst. The Thunder led 35-23 after the first and coasted to the win. Gilgeous-Alexander had his 11th game of 30 or more points this season.

Key stat

The Thunder came into the game with an NBA-best 12.1 steals per game, and had 13 against New Orleans.

Up next

The Thunder will host Dallas on Tuesday night in the first round of the knockout stage of the NBA Emirates Cup. The Pelicans play the Spurs on Sunday in San Antonio.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Isaiah Hartenstein vs. Yves Missi (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gains possession)	0	0
11:44	Cason Wallace bad pass (Brandon Ingram steals)	0	0
11:38	CJ McCollum misses 26-foot three point shot	0	0
11:36	Cason Wallace defensive rebound	0	0
11:28	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes driving layup	0	2
11:04	Herbert Jones misses 25-foot three point jumper	0	2
11:01	Cason Wallace defensive rebound	0	2
10:46	Isaiah Hartenstein misses driving layup	0	2
10:43	Yves Missi defensive rebound	0	2
10:38	Dejounte Murray bad pass (Luguentz Dort steals)	0	2
10:28	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes driving layup	0	4
10:09	Herbert Jones offensive foul	0	4
10:09	Herbert Jones turnover	0	4
9:58	CJ McCollum personal foul	0	4
9:52	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes 1-foot two point shot (Cason Wallace assists)	0	6
9:35	CJ McCollum bad pass (Cason Wallace steals)	0	6
9:31	Cason Wallace makes two point shot (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assists)	0	8
9:31	Pelicans Full timeout	0	8
9:19	Herbert Jones out of bounds bad pass turnover	0	8
9:02	Jalen Williams bad pass (Yves Missi steals)	0	8
8:51	CJ McCollum misses 7-foot step back jumpshot	0	8
8:49	Cason Wallace defensive rebound	0	8
8:40	Jalen Williams makes 15-foot pullup jump shot (Isaiah Hartenstein assists)	0	10
8:29	Isaiah Hartenstein personal foul	0	10
8:20	Yves Missi makes 1-foot layup (Brandon Ingram assists)	2	10
8:04	Cason Wallace misses 23-foot three point jumper	2	10
8:01	Herbert Jones defensive rebound	2	10
7:54	Herbert Jones lost ball turnover (Jalen Williams steals)	2	10
7:49	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes 26-foot running pullup jump shot (Isaiah Hartenstein assists)	2	13
7:34	Brandon Ingram misses 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	2	13
7:31	Jalen Williams defensive rebound	2	13
7:21	Isaiah Hartenstein makes driving dunk (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assists)	2	15
6:57	Herbert Jones makes 25-foot three point jumper (CJ McCollum assists)	5	15
6:38	Luguentz Dort makes 23-foot three point jumper (Jalen Williams assists)	5	18
6:18	Dejounte Murray bad pass (Cason Wallace steals)	5	18
6:13	Jalen Williams makes 1-foot dunk (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assists)	5	20
5:51	Dejounte Murray makes 25-foot three pointer	8	20
5:31	Jalen Williams misses 9-foot pullup jump shot	8	20
5:29	Dejounte Murray defensive rebound	8	20
5:24	Dejounte Murray makes 13-foot two point shot	10	20
5:22	Thunder Full timeout	10	20
5:22	Trey Murphy III enters the game for CJ McCollum	10	20
5:22	Brandon Boston Jr. enters the game for Yves Missi	10	20
5:22	Isaiah Joe enters the game for Isaiah Hartenstein	10	20
5:03	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes driving layup	10	22
4:38	Luguentz Dort blocks Brandon Ingram 's 13-foot two point shot	10	22
4:36	Cason Wallace defensive rebound	10	22
4:33	Jalen Williams misses 25-foot three point shot	10	22
4:30	Dejounte Murray defensive rebound	10	22
4:21	Brandon Boston Jr. misses 23-foot three point jumper	10	22
4:19	Isaiah Joe defensive rebound	10	22
4:06	Cason Wallace makes 24-foot three point jumper (Isaiah Joe assists)	10	25
3:58	Kenrich Williams enters the game for Jalen Williams	10	25
3:47	Dejounte Murray misses 23-foot three point jumper	10	25
3:45	Kenrich Williams defensive rebound	10	25
3:36	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes two point shot	10	27
3:14	Dejounte Murray misses 19-foot pullup jump shot	10	27
3:12	Cason Wallace defensive rebound	10	27
3:04	Luguentz Dort misses driving floating jump shot	10	27
3:02	Dejounte Murray defensive rebound	10	27
2:56	Luguentz Dort shooting foul	10	27
2:56	Herbert Jones makes free throw 1 of 2	11	27
2:56	CJ McCollum enters the game for Dejounte Murray	11	27
2:56	Jeremiah Robinson-Earl enters the game for Brandon Ingram	11	27
2:56	Aaron Wiggins enters the game for Luguentz Dort	11	27
2:56	Herbert Jones makes free throw 2 of 2	12	27
2:47	Cason Wallace bad pass (CJ McCollum steals)	12	27
2:41	Trey Murphy III makes driving layup (CJ McCollum assists)	14	27
2:41	Isaiah Joe shooting foul	14	27
2:41	Javonte Green enters the game for Herbert Jones	14	27
2:41	Alex Caruso enters the game for Cason Wallace	14	27
2:41	Trey Murphy III makes free throw 1 of 1	15	27
2:31	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes driving layup	15	29
2:22	Kenrich Williams personal foul	15	29
2:18	Alex Caruso shooting foul	15	29
2:18	CJ McCollum misses free throw 1 of 2	15	29
2:18	Pelicans offensive team rebound	15	29
2:18	CJ McCollum makes free throw 2 of 2	16	29
2:03	Alex Caruso makes driving layup (Aaron Wiggins assists)	16	31
1:37	Brandon Boston Jr. makes 24-foot three point step back jumpshot	19	31
1:23	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lost ball turnover (Trey Murphy III steals)	19	31
1:19	Trey Murphy III makes two point shot	21	31
58.2	Alex Caruso makes 23-foot three point jumper (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assists)	21	34
51.0	CJ McCollum misses 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	21	34
46.1	Isaiah Joe defensive rebound	21	34
36.1	Trey Murphy III shooting foul	21	34
36.1	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes free throw 1 of 2	21	35
36.1	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses free throw 2 of 2	21	35
34.1	Javonte Green defensive rebound	21	35
27.1	Pelicans Full timeout	21	35
14.2	Javonte Green makes 2-foot two point shot (Trey Murphy III assists)	23	35
6.1	Javonte Green kicked ball violation	23	35
6.1	Dejounte Murray enters the game for CJ McCollum	23	35
2.1	Isaiah Joe misses 26-foot three point pullup jump shot	23	35
2.1	Brandon Boston Jr. defensive rebound	23	35
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	23	35

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Smoothie King Center

New Orleans, LA

Date & Time

12:00 AM, December 8, 2024

Coverage

NBA League Pass, GCSEN, FanDuel SN OK

Attendance

15,718

Referees

Derek Richardson, Courtney Kirkland, John Butler

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Oklahoma City	46	15	.754	W1
Denver	37	23	.617	L1
Minnesota	37	23	.617	W2
Portland	29	32	.475	L1
Utah	18	42	.300	L5

2025-26 Southwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
San Antonio	43	16	.729	W11
Houston	37	22	.627	L1
Memphis	22	36	.379	W1
Dallas	21	38	.356	L2
New Orleans	19	42	.311	W4

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Thunder beat Pelicans 119-109 for their 7th victory in last 8 games

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