The Oklahoma City Thunder’s losing skid reached three games Friday night. The Los Angeles Clippers scored the final seven points to escape with a 113-112 win in an NBA Cup game at Intuit Dome.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in a game-high 40 points in the losing cause, and fans did not take long to weigh in on a Thunder team that is still playing without three starters.
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Gilgeous-Alexander shot 15-of-26 from the field and 8-of-11 at the free-throw line in 39 minutes, adding 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Oklahoma City trailed 57-44 at halftime before exploding for 40 points in the third quarter and carrying an 84-82 lead into the fourth.
With 3:01 to play, Gilgeous-Alexander’s leaning 3 made it 110-106 for the Thunder, and they still led 112-106 with 2:43 remaining. However, they never scored again, and Brook Lopez, who led Los Angeles with 26 points, answered with two late buckets.
Darius Garland, who added 24, completed a three-point play with 50.4 seconds remaining for the go-ahead points. Oklahoma City got one last look down a point, but Gilgeous-Alexander’s jumper at the buzzer missed.
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Oklahoma City had already lost both ends of a back-to-back in Portland on Tuesday and Wednesday. After Friday’s finish, Hoop Central delivered the update: “The Oklahoma City Thunder have now lost 3 straight games.”
The Thunder have been without starters Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace since the October 25 win over the Clippers. Williams and Wallace were injured during that game, while Holmgren later was diagnosed with a small right patellar-tendon tear after experiencing knee discomfort.
Friday’s absences ran deeper than that. Jaylin Williams sat with low back spasms, and Thomas Sorber remains out after right knee surgery.
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Ajay Mitchell did not play after being listed as questionable with a left ankle sprain. So for the second game running, Isaiah Hartenstein and rookie Aday Mara, both 7-footers, opened together in the frontcourt.
Nikola Topić also made his season debut after being recalled from the G League, playing 16 minutes.
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An OKC fan kept it short in response to the news of the streak: “2 of them aren’t even playing ntm on us lol.”
A different fan compared Gilgeous-Alexander’s position to that of other superstars: “SGA is finally starting to feel the same burden Luka, Jokic, Curry, and LeBron had to carry. It’s easy to win games when your team is blessed with amazing depth and a lot of draft picks.”
One more hoops observer was blunt in their take on the Thunder star: “I mean yes obviously like half the team is out but also SGA just isn’t a clutch player.”
Another user went further,writing off the Thunder altogether: “OKC downfall is finally here.”
Jared McCain and Hartenstein gave Gilgeous-Alexander the most help. McCain scored 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting from 3-point range, while Hartenstein went 9-of-10 from the field for 21 points and 16 rebounds.
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One fan was extremely pleased with the result, posting, “Hate watch successful.”
Hartenstein spoke about the roster situation after Wednesday’s loss in Portland: “We know what the reality is. We have a lot of guys out, but we don’t wanna make excuses… Guys been stepping up this whole process, and we just wanna keep building.”
Oklahoma City’s next chance to stop the slide comes Sunday against the Sacramento Kings (1-11), the final stop on a four-game West Coast trip on which it has yet to win.
Mitchell’s status for Sunday’s game bears watching after he missed Friday’s loss with a left ankle sprain, while Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Wallace have now been out since October 25.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
