As Kenrich Williams panickly played hot potato with the ball, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had very little time to think. The two-time MVP went with a desperate fadeaway mid-range jumper that rattled around the rim. In heartbreaking fashion, the outside jumper barely missed as the final buzzer sounded.
The Oklahoma City Thunder suffered a heartbreaker in a 113-112 loss to the LA Clippers. This was part of the 2026 NBA Cup West Group B play.
Coming up on three weeks since the Post-D.C.C. (Dub, Chet, Caso) era started, I think Thunder fans are slowly coming to grips with their new NBA reality — they're just not a contender right now. Heck, their current husk of an NBA team might not even be a postseason squad. OKC's first three-game losing streak in three seasons
is the latest example of that.
If you had thought the Thunder would walk into LA and get an easy victory over the Clippers like usual, then you had a rude awakening. Gilgeous-Alexander was back to being a drive-heavy scorer, but the rest of OKC's supporting cast didn't offer much offense. They were in a 33-27 deficit after the first quarter.
The offensive ineptitude only looked worse from there. Not even Nikola Topic could salvage it and run the show. The Thunder only had 17 points in the second frame. They quickly fell behind by double-digit points. Darius Garland dissected OKC's defense. Brook Lopez was nails from the outside. It was a little stunning to see just how much this previous regular-season win machine failed to show up against a bottom-tier team. They were in a 57-44 hole at halftime.
Snapping out of their funk, the Thunder scored the first 10 points of the second half. Energy was a lot better. Gilgeous-Alexander had a vintage hot streak. He was automatic from the mid-range. He was also slicing through LA's defense. Jared McCain joined in on the fun. He caught fire from the perimeter. Near the halfcourt logo, he swished an outside jumper.
The Thunder completely flipped this game's script. They had 40 points in the third quarter. That was enough to get an 84-82 lead — something you'd easily take rewinding back to the halftime break. As Gilgeous-Alexander caught a quick breather sitting at 32 points, OKC's second-unit lineup held the fort to start the final frame. The Clippers did the same with their own version.
As Isaiah Hartenstein and others kept the offense flowing, Brook Lopez and Grady Dick did the same. The Thunder remained ahead, but the Clippers stuck around just long enough to make this a game. Another clutch-time scenario developed for the glued-together OKC. After Alex Caruso put them up 112-106 with a little under three minutes to go, that felt like a safe-enough distance to think a win was in the bag.
Instead, the Thunder — once again — saw their crunch-time offense completely fall apart. Garland and Lopez connected on back-to-back buckets. OKC's offense was in the mud once again. I mean, Caruso tried a baseline isolation drive at Lopez. It played out the way you thought it would.
As the Thunder dearly held onto a 112-110 lead with a minute to go, Garland drove downhill at McCain. He completed the and-one layup. The former NBA All-Star flexed his muscles as the third-filled LA crowd justifiably went wild. Down 113-112 with 50 seconds to go, Gilgeous-Alexander had a chance to add to his growing collection of game-winners.
Instead, Gilgeous-Alexander's mid-range jumper missed. He had a second chance. But the Thunder went with a panic-inducing scramble drill. The final 16 seconds didn't resemble coherent halfcourt basketball at all. Poetically, the two-time MVP winner almost bailed them out with an all-talent-and-luck jumper that went in and out at the buzzer.
The Thunder had 28 points in the fourth quarter, but that clearly wasn't enough. This is a heartbreaker in every sense of the phrase. If either of Gilgeous-Alexander's shot attempts swished through, we're talking about a gutsy, character-quality comeback win over the Clippers. That's all you can ask for with the current state of the roster. Instead, they painfully fall short against one of the worst teams in the league.
The Thunder shot 47% from the field and went 11-of-35 (31.4%) from 3. They shot 13-of-19 on free throws. They had 27 assists on 44 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 40 points and five assists. McCain also stepped up with 23 points and four rebounds. Hartenstein was monstrous with 21 points, 16 rebounds and six assists. Aday Mara had 10 points and three rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Clippers shot 46% from the field and went 16-of-41 (39%) from 3. They shot 17-of-21 on free throws. They had 28 assists on 40 baskets. Five Clippers players scored double-digit points.
Garland led the way with 24 points and seven assists. Lopez also had a throwback night with 26 points and seven rebounds. Derrick Jones Jr. helped with 14 points and five rebounds. Dick erupted for 13 points and three rebounds. Keaton Wagler also had 14 points and two rebounds.
As much as this one stings, you want to know the worst part about it? You can't even be too mad at the Thunder. That's how beat-up their roster is. Gilgeous-Alexander was awesome. He had a couple of chances to hit the go-ahead bucket. Even though he didn't, you can't ask for much else. The supporting cast did a fine job, but all of their world-class talent, erased by injuries, is becoming more and more noticeable as time goes on.
There was a little bit of a second win when Post-D.C.C. started, but reality is settling in. The Thunder simply don't have the man-power to get by. That'll surely change soon — around New Year's when Chet Holmgren returns. Until then, though, these types of previously-inexcusable losses are going to pile on. The NBA is an unforgiving sport.
Let's look at Thunder player grades:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A
Barely missing the potential 3-point game-winner, Gilgeous-Alexander darted to the locker room. Stone face and all. The 28-year-old — like the rest of us — is slowly learning just how grueling a situation the Thunder find themselves in for the remainder of the year. He played as perfectly as you could hope for and it still wasn't enough to beat a bottom-of-the-barrel club.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 40 points on 15-of-26 shooting, five assists and four rebounds. He shot 2-of-4 from 3 and went 8-of-11 on free throws. He also had one steal.
I'll say this — before I dive any further — Gilgeous-Alexander completely shut me and his other critics up. After junking up his shot diet with contested jumpers, he returned to formula. The 28-year-old had a vintage night as a drive-heavy scorer. The Clippers had no answer for him. I've been critical of his offensive processing in recent weeks, but this was a great 180 to all those talks.
Gilgeous-Alexander was almost Superman perfect — sans those last two shots he missed. But he did enough to get this win. He put the Thunder on his back and went into supernova scoring mode. The 28-year-old absolutely sliced through LA's defense. He dribbled his way to his favorite mid-range spots at the elbows and baseline. He cut out his outside shot. Heck, he even went to the free-throw line a bunch.
By the end of the first quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander had nine free-throw attempts. In the third quarter, he completely took the game over with 14 points as the Thunder mounted a double-digit comeback. At that point, he had 32 points through three frames. This was a textbook one-man carry job. He understood how dire OKC's situation was with its healthy scoring talent.
As Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down a stepback 3-pointer, it felt like the Thunder would cruise to the finish line. Instead, they decided to go through a scoring drought at the absolute worst time. He had two chances in the final 36 seconds to add a game-winner to his highlight reel. No dice. He missed both. The first was on a semi-clean look. The second was purely out of desperation.
Now, the Thunder have to sit on this loss for a little while. It's going to sting for a minute. Especially for Gilgeous-Alexander. He did his part. A super-efficient 40-point outburst is ideally enough to get a win. After catching flak for his lackadaisical body language in recent losses, he spearheaded OKC's comeback efforts. But two chances to get the win weren't enough.
If you're the Thunder, you're bummed about the result. But you live with the process. Gilgeous-Alexander had a couple of chances to get a shot up. Neither went in, but you take that scenario 101 out of 100 times. That shouldn't help them sleep at night, though. As they navigate the unknown of this season, I think the only clear thing you can confidently say is that OKC isn't a title contender with this group of guys. Even if the top guy is a two-time MVP winner.
That footwork 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/xTkx0CuF69
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 14, 2026
Locked in for the second half 🔒 pic.twitter.com/NXUkumFa5J
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 14, 2026
Turned defense to offense pic.twitter.com/GR1Q90g4DA
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 14, 2026
Jared McCain: A
Pulling up from Curry-range, McCain swished in the deep outside jumper. The third-quarter buzzer-beater capped off his latest hot scoring streak. The 22-year-old walked to the bench with a quiet confidence as he dapped up Gilgeous-Alexander and others.
McCain finished with 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting, four rebounds and two assists. He shot 7-of-11 from 3.
Just in the nick of time, McCain's third quarter completely salvaged his night. He was unconscious with 17 points — that included five outside jumpers. The Thunder put up 40 points in the third quarter. His sizzling shot played a huge role in that as his two-man chemistry with Hartenstein was on full display.
These are the ebbs and flows of a microwave scorer. That's ultimately McCain's role in the NBA. He can get you buckets in a hurry. He can also go through long cold streaks. As is evident in this game itself. His third quarter was sublime. The Thunder actively sought to feed him the ball as he drilled his shots. But the rest of the night? It was pretty quiet. Sure, he put shots up. But they clearly didn't fall at a decent clip.
That said, McCain did enough to get a win, too. In totality, he stepped up as OKC's second-best scorer. It's asking a lot to put those responsibilities on his shoulders — perhaps you're asking too much. But that's the hand the Thunder have been dealt with this year. Wholistically speaking, he was great in this super-sized role.
The defensive struggles were evident. And the Thunder knew that came with McCain. But they badly needed the offense. He helped jump-start things in the third quarter. Can't ask for realistically much more. Just a shame these efforts went in vain in another demoralizing loss for this short-handed group.
From deep 👌 pic.twitter.com/IBRqCUfj4E
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 14, 2026
Hot to start the third 🔥 pic.twitter.com/FgiR68sj3b
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 14, 2026
Still cookin' on a 13-1 run 👨🍳 https://t.co/V125BsGd7Z pic.twitter.com/HsyZWGPxkg
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 14, 2026
Right on time 👌 https://t.co/2t9lBt6llj pic.twitter.com/C2BSiW6jc2
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 14, 2026
He just can't miss 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/4l8aMlENUW
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 14, 2026
Isaiah Hartenstein: A-plus
Cleaning up a miss, Hartenstein leaped off the floor to throw down the vicious second-chance dunk. He yelled in celebration. The hops are back. And so are his patented floaters. You can tell that the 28-year-old has finally discovered a groove. Right in time, too.
Hartenstein finished with 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting, 16 rebounds and six assists. He shot 3-of-4 on free throws. He also had one steal.
Usually playing within the flow of the offense, the Thunder have asked Hartenstein to step up as a primary scorer. Through two games, he's delivered. Even if it happened in losses. The seven-footer had a sluggish start to his year. But he is peaking right now as his physicality and conditioning are back to prime NBA game-shape status.
The Thunder needed to scrounge up any type of NBA-quality offense they could get. One of the ways they did that? Throwing the ball up in Hartenstein's vicinity deep in the paint. The seven-footer showed off his rim-running talents. He caught several alley-oops amid traffic. When that didn't happen, he finally found his floater again. That's been mostly absent this year, but his feathery touch is back.
Hartenstein also helped on the boards. Dealing with a depleted frontcourt, that's another area that the Thunder needed him to shore up. The seven-footer's newly-discovered springiness made it an easy task to cross off his list, too. Everything is pointing in the right direction for him as an individual. Even if OKC as a team is on a downward trend.
Out of pure necessity, the Thunder have scaled up Hartenstein to be one of their three best players. The secondary offense is basically having his teammates orbit around him for timely cuts. The 28-year-old has been impromptu promoted from a niche passer to a primary playmaker. That's how bad OKC's health situation is. But let's not be facetious — he's stepped up big time. Even if he doesn't have the game results to fully enjoy it.
Work down low ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/YiH1YxrkNF
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 14, 2026
Nikola Topic: C
As one of the first two players off the bench, Topic's check-in had more meaning to it than usual. The 21-year-old has finally made his 2026-27 regular-season debut. He had missed the first dozen games recovering from offseason back surgery. But to show how that hasn't anchored down his energy, he had an offensive rebound and a steal in his opening minute.
Topic finished with 0 points on 0-of-4 shooting, four rebounds and three assists. He shot 0-of-2 from 3. He also had two steals.
Obviously — as you can guess — Topic showed some rust. He had only played the first half of two G League games in his latest assignment. But that was enough to get him to LA to join the Thunder. They badly need NBA-capable bodies. As a recent lottery pick, he represents that. Playing out a contract year, I'm sure he's also felt a sense of urgency to return.
Cool to see Topic back. Just from a pure story perspective, too. He's a guy who's had all-time brutal health luck. He missed the 2024-25 season with a torn ACL. And was then limited to 10 appearances in the 2025-26 season as he was diagnosed — and eventually beat — testicular cancer. His latest setback was an offseason back surgery that took longer than anticipated to recover from.
Now, hopefully, Topic can play his first real NBA minutes of his career. His time in OKC may be nearing its end, but that doesn't mean his ambitions will end, too. If he can put out solid tape and help the Thunder in his dire hour of need, both sides will benefit from it. His energetic play on both ends here was a good start.
That hustle from Top 💪 pic.twitter.com/RHACILmpuc
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 14, 2026
Highlights:
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder suffer heartbreaker in 113-112 loss to Clippers
