Chet Holmgren scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Oklahoma City Thunder raced to a 126-109 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday at Smoothie King Center.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 23 points and Lu Dort contributed 17, while Isaiah Hartenstein chipped in 16 for Oklahoma City, which set a franchise record with 49 points in the first quarter.
The Thunder jumped to a 24-8 lead in the opening minutes and extended it to 36-11 before eight minutes had elapsed, capitalizing on six early Pelicans turnovers to dominate from the outset.
Rookie Jeremiah Fears scored a season-high 24 points and Trey Murphy III added 18 for New Orleans, which fell to 2-12 and has lost six straight games under interim coach James Borrego following Willie Green’s firing.
Oklahoma City led by as much as 32 points after Holmgren followed a 3-pointer with a cutting dunk in the third quarter, with six Thunder players finishing in double digits.
The Pelicans trimmed the deficit to 69-56 at halftime but never regained momentum, shooting 49% in the first half but struggling defensively against the Thunder’s relentless pace. Micah Peavy scored 16 off the bench, while Zion Williamson remained sidelined with a hamstring injury.
The Thunder improve to 14-1 and will host the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, while the Pelicans remain at the bottom of the Western Conference standings and return home to face the Denver Nuggets.
