On January 3, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Thunder defeated the Clippers 116-98, killing their opponents three times this season. Harden was sidelined with right groin soreness, and Alexander clocked in the third quarter to finish with 29 points and eight assists. The Clippers led the Thunder by as many as 16 points in the first half, but the Thunder went on a 42-20 run in the third quarter to widen the gap and eventually win the game. The Thunder won 13 consecutive victories, setting a new team record during the Russian city period. Powell was cold in his hand, shooting 1-of-11 from the field.

Statistics

Clippers: Kofe 26 points and 6 three-pointers, Zubac 11 points and 9 rebounds, Porter 11 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, Powell 6 points, 2 assists and 6 turnovers (1 of 11), Bamba 12 points and 8 rebounds, Jones Jr. 6 points and 6 rebounds, Dunn 8 points and 5 rebounds, Miller 10 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists

Thunder: Alexander 29 points and 8 assists, Jalen Williams 18 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, Hatten 11 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, Wiggins 9 points and 4 rebounds, Dort 9 points, Wallace 9 points, Mitchell 11 points, Joe 9 points

The star of the game

Alexander, who had just won the Month of the Month, continued to play steadily, leading the team to 13 consecutive wins.

Game recap

In the first quarter, Alexander scored 4 points in a row, Jones Jr. and Zubac also scored under the basket one after another, Kofe hit a three-point shot, Hatten shot in the middle, Alexander scored 2+1, and Dunn also scored 5 points in a row. Jaylin Williams threw and scored, and the Clippers then went on a 12-2 run to give the Clippers an eight-point lead. At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers led the Thunder 30-22.

In the second quarter, Bamba hit a three-point shot, Porter and Bamba made a layup, and the Clippers had a 16-point lead. Kenway hit a three-pointer, Jalen Williams scored five straight points, and the Thunder went on an 8-0 run to narrow the gap to single digits. Porter dunked Hatten, Kofe and Dort exchanged three-pointers, and Joe and Alexander also hit shots from the outside. Jalen Williams hit a buzzer-beating shot to give the Clippers a 52-48 lead over the Thunder at halftime. In the first half, Alexander had 14 points and 6 assists, Porter had 10 points, Powell was 0-of-5, and only scored 3 points from the free throw line.

Yibian fought again, Jalen Williams scored 6 points in a row, Kofe hit a three-point shot, Hatten hit 2+1, Wiggins hit a three-point shot, Jalen Williams dunked, Alexander three-point, mid-range shot, dunk, all kinds of offensive methods were full of firepower, and the Thunder blasted out a wave of 31-10, not only overtaking the Clippers, but also stretching the difference to 17 points. Dunn hit a three-pointer and Dort hit a three-pointer to give the Thunder a 90-72 lead over the Clippers at the end of the third quarter.

In the final quarter, Bamba hit a three-point shot, Wallace threw and scored, Mitchell hit a three-point shot, and Hatten scored a dunk to give the Thunder a 23-point lead. Powell finally hit his first open goal, and he was now 1-of-11. Wallace and Kenway hit three-pointers one after another, the Thunder led by 28 points, and there were 7 minutes and 11 seconds left before the end of the game.

Both sides start

Clippers: Dunn, Powell, Derrick Jones Jr., Kofe, Zubac

Thunder: Alexander, Wiggins, Jalen Williams, Dort, Hatten