Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder, visiting New Orleans, never trailed as they beat the Pelicans 119-109 on Saturday night.
Jalen Williams added 27 points, while Luguentz Dort and Alex Caruso each scored 14. Isaiah Hartenstein contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Ajay Mitchell had 10 points for the Thunder (18-5), who won their seventh game in the last eight.
For the Pelicans (5-19), Dejounte Murray led with 26 points, Herbert Jones had 24, Trey Murphy III scored 16, and CJ McCollum and Brandon Boston Jr. each added 11. Brandon Ingram, the Pelicans’ top scorer, was back after missing five games with a calf injury. He scored five points but left the game in the third quarter after hurting his left ankle.
The Pelicans were down by 26 points when Ingram got injured just 17 seconds into the second half. From then on, they couldn’t get any closer than a nine-point deficit.
Gilgeous-Alexander started strong, scoring the first six points of the game. The Thunder opened with a 10-0 run, and they built a 17-point lead as New Orleans struggled with six turnovers in the first six minutes.
Murphy scored five points and had an assist in the final three minutes of the first quarter, but Gilgeous-Alexander made all seven of his field-goal attempts and scored 16 points, helping the Thunder take a 35-23 lead by the end of the period.
Ingram made two free throws to begin the second quarter, but that was as close as the Pelicans would get. Oklahoma City scored 11 points in a row during a run that stretched the lead to 46-27. The Thunder pushed their lead to 30 points twice and led 77-51 at halftime.
