Thunder beat short-handed Pelicans for second straight win without injured forward Holmgren

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (AP) — Jalen Williams scored 31 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 29 and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans 106-88 on Wednesday night.

The victory was the second straight for the Thunder without Chet Holmgren. Oklahoma City was coming off a 134-128 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.

Lou Dort scored 11 points and Aaron Wiggins added 10 for Oklahoma City (10-2), which broke a 59-all tie with a 16-0 run in the third quarter for a 75-59 advantage.

Williams shot 10 for 18, including 4 for 7 from long distance and had seven assists. Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 of 25 shots and the Thunder converted 15 of 39 shots from 3-point range.

Brandon Ingram scored 18 points, Trey Murphy added 14 and Yves Missi had 10 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans (3-9), which outrebounded Oklahoma City 58-31, but was slowed by 24 turnovers. The Pelicans played without Jose Alvarado, Herb Jones, CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray and Zion Williamson, who were all reported as injured.

Holmgren will miss at least eight weeks with a pelvic fracture after a hard fall during Sunday’s loss to Golden State. The 7-foot-1 forward/center had been one of the league’s most efficient scorers and top shot blockers.

Key moment

Oklahoma City trailed 16-6 early, but closed out the first quarter on a 24-8 run for a 33-28 lead. Gilgeous-Alexander had nine points and Kenrich Williams contributed five off the bench in six minutes, including a 3-pointer.

Key stat

Oklahoma City played a guard-heavy lineup for the second straight game since losing Holmgren and committed just seven turnovers, two days after turning the ball over only 11 times in a win over the Clippers

Up next

The Pelicans host Denver on Friday, while the Thunder host Phoenix, also on Friday.

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