Jared McCain kept Oklahoma City hanging around with one of the loudest shots of the night, but the Thunder still walked out of Intuit Dome with another loss.
With Ajay Mitchell sidelined by an ankle injury, McCain stayed in the starting five Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers in NBA Cup play and delivered a third-quarter exclamation point. He buried a 30-foot buzzer-beating three over Max Strus to close the period, sending the Thunder into the fourth with an 84-81 edge.
That lead didn’t hold. The game stayed tight down the stretch, but the Clippers pulled out a 113-112 win on Darius Garland’s and-1 play, with McCain whistled for the foul. Oklahoma City dropped its third straight and fell to 8-5, while the Clippers moved to 3-8.
McCain finished with 23 points, knocking down 7 of 11 from deep, and added four rebounds and two assists. The 22-year-old has been asked to do more with Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace all out with major injuries, and he’s kept giving coach Mark Daigneault something to work with in a depleted rotation.
Acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers in a midseason trade in February, McCain has been on a tear over his last five games, averaging 18.8 points while shooting 52.6% from the field and 45.6% from long range. He’s also chipped in 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in that stretch.
Oklahoma City had plenty of firepower elsewhere, too. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points with four rebounds and five assists, and Isaiah Hartenstein added 21 points, 16 rebounds and six assists. Even then, the Thunder had one last shot to steal it, but Gilgeous-Alexander missed a step-back jumper at the buzzer.
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The standings still have room to change, but the early leaders are beginning to emerge, with the Celtics on top in the East and the Spurs pacing the West. For the Thunder, the loss leaves them needing to keep pace in a group where every possession matters, and the difference between advancing and going home may already be tied to one late sequence they could not quite finish. [Read more 🡒]