Jan. 28, 2026, 12:05 a.m. CT
OKLAHOMA CITY — Refusing to allow Jeremiah Fears break one of basketball’s unwritten rules at a free layup, Lu Dort swiped the ball away at the final buzzer. After being shoved by the 19-year-old, the one-time NBA champion grabbed him by the jersey. Both teams got at it in a mini-scuffle.
While the aftermath was chaotic, the Oklahoma City Thunder rode the momentum they badly needed in a 104-95 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. They avoid dropping three in a row — something that hasn’t happened in two seasons.
To start, it was much of the same for the Thunder. With half their roster out, the offense has dipped to below freezing levels. It took nearly five minutes before they scored their first bucket as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander threw a great skip pass to Aaron Wiggins for the corner 3-pointer.
Their only saving grace was that the Pelicans were equally incompetent at putting the ball through the hoop. The Thunder held a 17-14 lead after the first quarter. Yep, you read that score right. Eventually, we returned to modern-day basketball.
Gilgeous-Alexander darted the ball toward Isaiah Joe for a 3-pointer. The Thunder finally found a groove on offense. They scored 31 points in the second frame. At halftime, they held a low-scoring 48-46 lead over the Pelicans. Not bad considering the flurry of misses, but the second half needed to be better.
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And that’s what happened. Chet Holmgren returned to being a high-end scorer. Jaylin Williams fed him an alley-oop. That boosted his confidence. He eventually drained a mid-range jumper to put OKC up 59-52 with eight minutes left in the frame. The Thunder replicated things with 31 points in the third quarter.
The Thunder held a 79-69 lead through three quarters. With Gilgeous-Alexander still on the floor, they went on a 9-2 run to open the final frame. That gave them a game-high 17-point lead at that juncture. The rest of the game turned into OKC stiff-arming New Orleans away on the scoreboard.
Fears made it a five-point game with five minutes to go, but Dort and Wiggins hit big-time back-to-back 3-pointers to balloon their lead to 98-87 with a little over three minutes left. That about did it in terms of the actual basketball being played. The Thunder scored 25 points in the final frame.
Now, in terms of extracurricular activities, you saw a couple of instances to keep most folks tuned into the TV. The first was between Williams and Saddiq Bey. Both went face-to-face before handed double-technical fouls. The former smiled at the latter’s face when the immediate possession resulted in a foul between the two.
That likely instigated what eventually happened at the end of the game. Dort and Fears went at it. Both teams cleared their benches. The former Sooner had to be dragged off the floor and into the tunnel. Considering how demoralizing things were with their last two games, this was a much-needed boost of adrenaline that everybody needed.
The Thunder shot 40% from the field and went 13-of-38 (34.2%) from 3. They shot 21-of-23 on free throws. They had 25 assists on 35 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with a high-volume 29 points and four assists. Holmgren had a 20-point and 14-rebound double-double. Dort had 12 points and eight rebounds. Joe scored 17 points. Wiggins tallied 13 points and five rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans shot 34% from the field and went 10-of-40 (25%) from 3. They shot 17-of-22 on free throws. They had 25 assists on 34 baskets. Three Pelicans players scored double-digit points.
Zion Williamson had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Bey finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Trey Murphy III was quiet with 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Playing with the zombie version of their championship roster, the Thunder did just enough on the offensive end to get a relatively stress-free win for the first time in what feels like forever. At this point, it was all about getting a win by any means necessary. You hope that reinforcements can arrive sooner rather than later as the competition levels up.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren carried enough of OKC’s offense to take advantage of their league-best defense beating up on a messy offense that had zero flow to it. Not every win is going to be a Mona Lisa. And considering how ugly things have gotten recently, you take a win when you can get it.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: B
Receiving the inbounds pass, Gilgeous-Alexander took advantage of Herb Jones’ ill-timed gamble for a steal. He quickly spun around and went at the paint. Before Yves Missi could even jump for a contest, the reigning MVP let off a floater that banked in.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 29 points on 8-of-22 shooting, six rebounds and four assists. He shot 0-of-3 from 3 and went 13-of-14 on free throws.
Badly needing a win to salvage this three-game homestand, Gilgeous-Alexander emptied the tank. Over the years, the Pelicans have oddly been well-equipped to slow down the 30-point scoring machine. That happened once again as he sacrificed his superb efficiency for raw volume.
The reliable jumper betrayed him. Gilgeous-Alexander’s shots rimmed out several times in a frustrating night. Driving to the basket wasn’t an automatic bucket either. Just three points in the opening frame likely explains why the Thunder wasn’t able to even cross 20 points.
Eventually, Gilgeous-Alexander got it going. And in the way most of his critics accuse him of — getting double-digit attempts at the free-throw line. This is probably one of the handful of nights in a season where you can truly call him a ‘free-throw merchant’ — if you believe in such a silly term. The Pelicans played undisciplined defense and kept fouling him.
That’s what happens when your perimeter defenders are undersized and your rim protectors are inexperienced. It was too easy for Gilgeous-Alexander to get to the free-throw line. Once that happened, the short jumpers started to fall. With a chance to put this away, you saw him finally have a strong fourth quarter — something he’s struggled to do in recent losses.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 10 points in the final frame. No need for a dramatic finish in this one, as New Orleans didn’t have someone on its side to go bucket for bucket with him. A little bit of redemption for the reigning MVP, as seldom touches in the final moments was a storyline over their last two losses.
It’s not the prettiest high-scoring performance, but Gilgeous-Alexander did enough blue-collar work to ensure the Thunder didn’t drop three straight at home — something that’s been pretty unprecedented in this current era of the OKC franchise.
Chet Holmgren: A-plus
Working at the dunker’s spot, Holmgren went at Derik Queen. He turned around to swish in the fadeaway jumper despite a textbook contest. It’s the type of self-creation scoring OKC fans have hoped to see from the 23-year-old more often.
Holmgren finished with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 14 rebounds and three assists. He shot 1-of-3 from 3 and went 3-of-3 on free throws. He also had five blocks.
A slow first half was quickly redeemed with a loud second half. Sitting on six points at the break, the Thunder desperately needed more from Holmgren. You can get away with being an in-the-flow scorer when everybody is healthy. But considering the state of the roster, they desperately needed him to get out of his comfort zone and hunt for his shot like the probable All-Star player should.
Holmgren received the memo. He scored 14 points in the third quarter. Williams threw him a big-to-big alley-oop. He had a couple of putback layups as he boxed out to get some badly-needed offensive boards. He also swished in a catch-and-shoot look from the outside.
The third-quarter scoring flurry flipped this game. It went from another nail-biter to a semi-comfortable win for the Thunder. You can play unreal defense for an entire night, but that only helps when you can convert on the other side. Holmgren showed up to help ease some of Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring load.
And the defense, per usual, was stellar. Holmgren had five blocks. He’s on the cusp of being the league leader. The Pelicans shot an ugly 43% in the paint. Not having the dynamic scorers to attack the rim was really exposed throughout the whole night in a game where they didn’t even crack the century mark.
Isaiah Joe: A-plus
Sliding over to the left, Joe caught Holmgren’s kick-out pass. He didn’t need much space to let off an outside jumper that swished in. The bucket added to OKC’s momentum in the final seconds of a game-altering third quarter. Finally, someone took advantage of their open looks.
Joe finished with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, three rebounds and three assists. He shot 5-of-10 from 3.
The ongoing discussion of how well Gilgeous-Alexander’s teammates complement the looks he creates was recently reignited with a couple of avoidable losses. While there is some validity to those concerns, Joe shushed them for at least one night.
Roaming the perimeter, Joe had plenty of outside looks. He put up double-digit attempts. They were badly needed as OKC’s offense couldn’t figure out how to play consistently throughout the night. Turns out, pairing him with Gilgeous-Alexander usually results in quality looks.
Good to see Joe be one of their other guys to contribute on the scoreboard. You know what you’re going to get from Gilgeous-Alexander every night and from Holmgren most nights. How they field the rest of the points to get wins is an adventure with several different routes.
Lu Dort: B
Refusing to let Fears push him without repercussions, Dort showed why he’s likely one of the last guys you want to mess with outside of basketball. The Thunder played with an edge tonight — a refreshing sight considering how the last couple of games have gone. You can credit the 26-year-old for that.
Dort finished with 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting, eight rebounds and three assists. He shot 4-of-9 from 3. He also had a steal.
The outside jumper continues to come around. Dort helped the Thunder pull away from the Pelicans with some timely outside buckets. He made a pair of looks in the fourth quarter as they held a double-digit lead for most of the final minutes.
On the other end, Dort had no problem with Williamson. The one-on-one matchup was the smart move to make. Nobody in New Orleans’ backcourt really scares you to go off for 20-plus points. So utilizing his size to handle the Pelicans’ former All-Star in the post was an unconventional bet that paid off.
Say what you want about Dort’s on-court play, but it’s obvious that the Thunder play with an extra level of intensity. And if your defensive DNA is going to be tied with that, then he’s the perfect guy to be the face of it. Ask the Pelicans, as they likely left OKC upset with themselves.
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