Luguentz Dort scored 27 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder went on an 18-1 run in the third quarter to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 108-100.
The Pelicans went on a 17-5 run to lead 67-65 with 5:12 left in the third quarter. Darius Bazley’s dunk put the Thunder ahead for good with 3:51 left in the quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 8 points during the run, and they led 83-68 with 57 seconds left in the quarter and by as many as 21 in the fourth quarter.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points, and Mike Muscala added 12 points (9 on 3 3-pointers) off the bench.
For the Pelicans, Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 33 points (22 in the fourth quarter) and 10 rebounds, and Jonas Valančiūnas added 25 points and 15 rebounds. Alexander-Walker scored 22 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter.
The Thunder shot 42.5% from the field and 29.4% from 3 to the Pelicans’ 35.1% and 25.7%. The Pelicans gave up 13 offensive rebounds, about 4 more than usual for the shots the Thunder missed. The Pelicans outscored the Thunder 26-16 in 8 minutes with Temple, Valančiūnas, Graham, Alexander-Walker and Jones on the floor together.