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2026-27 · Regular season
Tyronn Lue says ‘that’s who we have to be’ after Darius Garland’s late and-one and Brook Lopez’s 26 beat the Thunder 113-112
The Clippers closed on a 7-0 run to beat Oklahoma City 113-112, with Darius Garland’s and-one deciding it. Tyronn Lue said being “a tough-minded team” is “who we have to be,” and Garland praised 38-year-old Brook Lopez after his 26 points.
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The LA Clippers had been beaten by the Oklahoma City Thunder in October, came into Friday at 2-8, and trailed 112-106 with 2:43 left at Intuit Dome. From there, they scored the last seven points. Brook Lopez made a layup and a fadeaway jumper, both set up by Darius Garland, and Garland drove past Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for a layup and a foul with 50.4 seconds left. His free throw made it 113-112, and that was the final score in the Emirates NBA Cup West Group B game.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 but missed step-back jumpers on Oklahoma City’s last two trips, the second from 20 feet with two seconds left. The Thunder have now lost three in a row, all on this road trip, after two losses in Portland earlier in the week. They are 8-5. The Clippers are 3-8.
Lue: ‘That’s who we have to be’
Tyronn Lue was asked about turning the game into a scrappy one for the Thunder. “It’s very important. That’s who we have to be,” he said. “We preach every day, JVG preaches every day, just being a tough-minded team to come out and defend every night, try to turn the other team over. And he’s challenged guys to rebound the basketball.” JVG is assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy.
The Clippers forced 13 turnovers and scored 15 points off them. They also made 16 of 41 threes, while Oklahoma City made 11 of 35. “Overall, I’d like to say it was a great team win,” Lue said. “I thought everybody played a big part in it. And that’s who we have to be going forward.”
It was not a clean night. The Clippers led 57-44 at halftime and by as many as 15, then gave up 40 points in the third quarter and went into the fourth down 84-82. Oklahoma City scored 58 points in the paint to the Clippers’ 40, and Isaiah Hartenstein had 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting with 16 rebounds.
Garland on the drive, and on Lopez
Garland finished with 24 points, seven assists and 5-of-5 free throws. He said he had a choice on the go-ahead play. “I had a gap. I could have shot the three ball, but I wasn’t shooting it too well, in my opinion,” he said. “So, yeah, just took the layup and finished it.”
Lopez, 38, led the Clippers with 26 points on 11-of-21 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists, and he assisted on the winning layup. Garland said the center has been doing “all the fighting, man,” by “getting extra possessions for us” and “tipping the ball back to us.” “This is really his third stint of an NBA career, basically,” Garland said. “It’s incredible to see, and I tip my hat off to him every night, because he comes in here prepared and ready to go literally every day.” He called Lopez’s work “definitely inspiring, especially for a lot of young guys.”
The bench and the rookie
Derrick Jones Jr. had 14 points with four threes and four blocks. Asked about teams leaving him open, he said, “If they don’t wanna close out, I live with those results.” Gradey Dick scored 13 on 5-of-7 shooting off the bench, and rookie Keaton Wagler had 14 points in 18 minutes.
Wagler looks up to Gilgeous-Alexander, and the Thunder star was asked about him after the game. “He’s a good player. He has good feel. Can really shoot. Usually when you have those things, the game will slow down for you eventually,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He’s in a good situation where he can play a lot. There’s good coaches over there, so he’ll learn the game the right way.”
Who was missing
Both teams were short-handed. The Clippers were without Brandon Ingram (Achilles), Bradley Beal (knee), Yanic Konan Niederhauser (foot) and Jordan Miller (shoulder). Oklahoma City played without Chet Holmgren (knee), Ajay Mitchell (ankle), Cason Wallace (shoulder), Jaylin Williams (back) and Thomas Sorber (knee). Jared McCain gave the Thunder 23 points with seven threes.
What’s next
The Clippers host the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 4:30 p.m. ET, which is 11:30 p.m. in Cairo. The Thunder finish the trip in Sacramento on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET, which is 4 a.m. Monday in Cairo.
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