NBA

Oklahoma City Thunder at Detroit Pistons

· National Basketball Association
55-12, 26-7 Away
Final
113 - 107

37-31, 18-16 Home

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 48 points and Thunder hold off Pistons 113-107

J.B. Bickerstaff is 'disgusted' with the officiating after Pistons' loss

Gilgeous-Alexander shot 17 of 26 from the floor, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and added six assists and three steals for Oklahoma City, which won for the ninth time in 10 games.

Cason Wallace added 20 points for Thunder, and Isaiah Hartenstein had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Detroit's Cade Cunningham matched a season low with 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting before being ejected for arguing calls late in the third quarter.

Tobias Harris led the Pistons with 18 points, while reserve Dennis Schroder had 17 points and 11 assists in place of Cunningham.

Detroit trailed 91-75 until Malik Beasley's buzzer-beating layup at the end of the third quarter. His 3-pointer pulled the Pistons within 98-97 with 4:16 left.

Gilgeous-Alexander answered with a 3, a runner in the lane and a layup to make it 106-100 with 2:07 left before setting up Wallace for a clinching 3-pointer.

Takeaways Thunder: Luguentz Dort left after appearing to injure himself slipping on the court with 48 seconds left in the third quarter. He didn't play in the fourth quarter.

Pistons: Held a moment of silence before the game for Junior Bridgeman, who died Monday at 75. Bridgeman played 12 NBA seasons, mostly for the Bucks, then became a highly successful businessman.

Key moment The Pistons were called for five technicals in the third quarter, including three during an extended argument with 48 seconds left in the period. Cunningham received both of his at that point, along with Schroder. Oklahoma City ended up with four points on the possession, increasing its lead from 11 to 15.

Key stat The Pistons made 50% (8 of 16) of their first-half 3-point attempts and held the Thunder to 22.7% (5 of 22) from behind the arc, but still trailed 55-54 at the half. Oklahoma City had a 7-2 edge on the offensive glass and forced 11 turnovers, while only committing seven.

Up next The Thunder play Sunday in Milwaukee, while Detroit is in New Orleans on Monday. —

Regular Season Series

OKC leads series 1-0

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 113 - 107
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 113 - 107
4th 6.1 Isaiah Hartenstein defensive rebound 113 - 107
4th 9.1 Malik Beasley misses 31-foot three point pullup jump shot 113 - 107
4th 13.0 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes free throw 2 of 2 113 - 107

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/okc.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originOKC https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/det.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originDET
43-89 FG 42-88
48 Field Goal % 48
10-34 3PT 14-33
29 Three Point % 42
17-22 FT 9-13
77 Free Throw % 69
44 Rebounds 39
10 Offensive Rebounds 6
34 Defensive Rebounds 33
17 Assists 29
11 Steals 8
8 Blocks 3
17 Turnovers 17
1 Team Turnovers 0
18 Total Turnovers 17
0 Technical Fouls 5
0 Total Technical Fouls 5
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
19 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 21
15 Fast Break Points 20
46 Points in Paint 50
20 Fouls 21
16 Largest Lead 10
Detroit Pistons Detroit Pistons Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Ronald Holland II, F Day-To-Day Dec 23
Isaac Jones, C Day-To-Day Dec 23
Oklahoma City Thunder Oklahoma City Thunder Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Ousmane Dieng, F Out Dec 24
Jaylin Williams, F Out Dec 24
Ajay Mitchell, G Out Dec 24
Nikola Topic, G Out Oct 30
Thomas Sorber, C Out Sep 5

Game Information

Little Caesars Arena

Location: Detroit, MI
Attendance: 20,062 · Capacity:

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Oklahoma City 26 4 .867 - L1
Denver 21 8 .724 4.5 L1
Minnesota 20 10 .667 6 W3
Portland 12 18 .400 14 L2
Utah 10 19 .345 15.5 L4

2025-26 Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Detroit 24 6 .800 - W3
Cleveland 17 14 .548 7.5 W2
Chicago 14 15 .483 9.5 W4
Milwaukee 12 18 .400 12 W1
Indiana 6 24 .200 18 L6
Full Standings

NBA News

Do the Knicks need Giannis to win a title?

Do the Knicks need Giannis to win a title?

Kendrick Perkins and Monica McNutt explain why the Knicks don't need Giannis Antetokounmpo to be title contenders.

NBA Christmas Day matchups that lived up to the hype

NBA Christmas Day matchups that lived up to the hype

The NBA on Christmas Day is one of the league's oldest traditions with the game's biggest stars often clashing on the holiday.

Why Perk isn't worried about the Steve Kerr, Draymond Green argument

Why Perk isn't worried about the Steve Kerr, Draymond Green argument

Kendrick Perkins and Vincent Goodwill detail why the argument between Steve Kerr and Draymond Green wasn't a big deal.

NBA Christmas jerseys: Why they're gone and a look back at the classics

NBA Christmas jerseys: Why they're gone and a look back at the classics

For a brief moment, holiday sweaters turned into NBA jerseys and teams wore special Christmas gear. We look back at this fashion trend.

Why Perk is calling Christmas Day a 'must-win' for OKC vs. the Spurs

Why Perk is calling Christmas Day a 'must-win' for OKC vs. the Spurs

Kendrick Perkins and Monica McNutt discuss why the Thunder need to beat the Spurs on Christmas Day.