The Los Angeles Clippers showed signs of life early on Thursday night at Paycom Center, but a complete second-half collapse allowed the Oklahoma City Thunder to cruise to a 122-101 victory and extend their home winning streak to 13 games.

Without James Harden in the lineup due to a left calf contusion, the Clippers needed their supporting cast to step up and they did exactly that in the opening quarter. 

Los Angeles jumped out to an 11-point lead early thanks to a 12-0 run that featured six straight points from Kawhi Leonard, and they led for most of the first period and into the early part of the second.

However, the Thunder began to find their rhythm before halftime, led by Chet Holmgren who scored 18 of his 22 points on 7-for-10 shooting in the first half alone. 

Oklahoma City took a 64-55 lead into the break after outscoring Los Angeles 37-22 in a disastrous second quarter for the Clippers, who shot just 7-of-21 from the field and 3-of-13 from beyond the arc during that stretch.

The third quarter was where everything fell apart for Los Angeles. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took over completely and poured in 19 points during the period to give the Thunder a commanding 103-83 advantage heading into the fourth. 

Oklahoma City shot an impressive 55.6 percent from the field in the quarter while outscoring the Clippers 39-28, and the game was effectively over from that point on.

The Thunder went on a 25-8 run to blow the game wide open, with Alex Caruso contributing a steal-and-score sequence that pushed the lead to 12 points with under four minutes left in the third. 

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 32 points on 13-of-24 shooting along with seven rebounds and six assists before resting in the fourth quarter, and it marked his 98th straight game with at least 20 points which adds to the second-longest streak in NBA history. 

Jalen Williams chipped in 20 points for the Thunder, who improved to 25-2 overall.

The biggest story of the night was the Clippers’ carelessness with the basketball. 

Without Harden running the show, Los Angeles committed a staggering 29 turnovers — the highest single-game total in the NBA this season — that led to 38 Oklahoma City points. 

To put that number in perspective, the Clippers gave the ball away more times than they made field goals (37) and essentially handed the game to the Thunder on a silver platter.

Cason Wallace had five of the Thunder’s 18 steals on the night, and that kind of sloppy play is a death sentence against a team as talented as Oklahoma City. 

The Clippers simply could not overcome their own mistakes and they also took 25 fewer shots than the Thunder as a result of all those giveaways.

Leonard led the Clippers with 22 points and John Collins added 20, but it was nowhere near enough on a night when the defense could not get any stops in the second half. Ivica Zubac posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Before the game, head coach Tyronn Lue addressed what the Clippers need to turn things around after dropping four straight games and nine of their last 10 coming into Thursday.

Lue also spoke about maintaining hope despite the struggles while noting the season is far from over.

“Just gotta be better. The season’s not over,” Lue said. “We’re four games out of the Play-In. That’s gotta be our mindset going forward.”

Regarding Harden’s absence, Lue emphasized how rare it is for the veteran guard to miss games and said the team made the smart decision to let him rest.

“When he’s out something’s really wrong with him, and we understand that,” Lue said. “Just thought it was smart for him to try to get right.”

The loss drops the Clippers to 6-21 on the season and ties them with the Sacramento Kings for the second-worst record in the Western Conference. 

They have now lost five straight games and 10 of their last 11 overall. 

The Clippers will host the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday in what will be another tough test.

The Thunder, meanwhile, bounced back from their loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup semifinals and remain the best team in basketball at 25-2. 

Oklahoma City travels to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves on Friday.