Schroder Scores 25, Thunder Top Pelicans With Late Flurry

Dennis Schroder scored 25 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, and had seven assists to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans 109-104 on Friday night.

Abdel Nader scored 19 points and Danilo Gallinari had 17 for Oklahoma City (7-11), which had been 1-4 in its previous five games. Steven Adams added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder, including the final four points in the last minute.

Brandon Ingram scored 26 points and had eight rebounds to lead New Orleans (6-13), which lost its fourth straight. J.J. Redick added 16 points for the Pelicans but missed two 3-point attempts in the final 10 seconds. New Orleans had seven players score in double digits.

New Orleans went ahead 104-103 with 2:49 left on Ingram's layup, but the Thunder scored the next six points. Chris Paul sank a short jumper with 1:24 to go, then Adams knocked home a rebound with 53.8 seconds left and put it away with an authoritative dunk with 15.1 seconds on the clock.

TIP-INS

New Orleans: Kenrich Williams left after rolling his left ankle midway through the first quarter. Williams went down on the play and stayed down for a couple of minutes before being helped off the court. ... Ingram scored 12 points in the first quarter, zero in the second, 10 in the third and four in the fourth. He has not scored fewer than 21 points over his last nine games, dating back to a seven-point effort the last time these teams met, a 115-104 Thunder victory on Nov. 2.

Oklahoma City: After losing their first seven games that were decided by five points or less, the Thunder have now won two in a row. ... Paul entered averaging 16.2 points per game, but had just seven, on 3-of-9 shooting, including the basket that gave the Thunder the lead for good with 1:24 to go. He also had six assists and five rebounds. It was the fourth time this season Paul scored in single digits. ... Shai Gilgeous-Alexander entered averaging 18.8 points per game, but had just two at halftime and ended up with 10 points, his lowest output of the season. ... Adams scored 10 points in the game's opening 2:16, then was blanked until his clutch buckets in the final minute.

UP NEXT

The Pelicans return home on Sunday to take on Oklahoma City again, completing a home-and-home set.