Player grades: Thunder clinch 1st seed with 128-110 win over Clippers

Apr 8, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) reaches in front of Los Angeles Clippers center Brook Lopez (11) for a rebound in the first half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Meeting Jordan Miller at the rim, Chet Holmgren denied his daring drive with another block. Maneuvering the baseline, he found Jalen Williams on a timely cut for an animated dunk. The defense-to-offense sequence was enough to force a white flag to be waved.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were in firm control in their 128-110 win over the LA Clippers. They led by as many as 25 points. More importantly, they've officially clinched the NBA's first seed throughout the 2026 NBA playoffs.

Seeing a possible Round 1 series preview, you witnessed just how huge a talent gap there is between the Thunder and the play-in tournament field. Treating this as a pseudo-playoff game considering the stakes, they didn't have any funny business from the jump.

Holmgren set the tone on both ends of the floor. He knocked down a catch-and-shoot outside look. The seven-footer couldn't miss from the floor. Against Brook Lopez, the lob attempts were too easy. He had 14 points alone in the first frame — most nights, he doesn't even reach that total. The Thunder had a 34-23 lead after the first quarter.

Eventually, Jalen Williams had his moment under the sun. He helped the second unit stay competent with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander off the floor. He bulldozed his way to the rim. Once he saw a few go in, he went with his patented mid-range jumper.

To pile on, Holmgren's hot streak continued. He intercepted Kawhi Leonard's pass. He then went the other way for the transition jam. He had 24 points in the first half. The Thunder had a 23-9 run to balloon their lead to 20-plus points. They scored 35 points in the second frame. They entered halftime with a 69-49 lead over the Clippers.

After the break, the roles reversed a little. The Clippers found a groove. Particularly by feeding Lopez outside jumpers. Leonard commanded OKC's attention. LA had a 14-6 run to show a pulse. At one point, the Thunder had their lead down to 87-75 with three minutes left in the third frame. Uh oh. Second night of a back-to-back legs were starting to wobble.

Always the one to calm things down, Gilgeous-Alexander nailed an outside jumper. Alex Caruso went coast-to-coast. Like that, the Thunder regained control with a 92-75 lead. They had 25 points in the third quarter. That put them in a 94-80 lead with a dozen minutes to go.

Not totally over yet, the Thunder shut the door without Gilgeous-Alexander. The second-unit lineup did that with Holmgren and Williams rolling. Isaiah Hartenstein also helped on the boards with second-chance looks. And then Isaiah Joe caught fire from deep to put this away.

Hovering around a 20-point lead, the Clippers finally gave up. The Thunder put up 34 points in the final frame. It was another game where most of the bench logged minutes — 13 guys this time. Peaking at the right time, the final few minutes turned into an impromptu celebration as OKC finally clinched the first seed.

The Thunder shot 58% from the field and went 13-of-34 (38.2%) from 3. They shot 19-of-24 on free throws. They had 30 assists on 48 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander had a quiet 20 points and 11 assists. Holmgren dominated with 30 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. Williams had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. Joe scored 21 points off the bench. Hartenstein tallied 10 points and seven rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Clippers shot 47% from the field and went 14-of-32 (43.8%) from 3. They shot 16-of-24 on free throws. They had 27 assists on 40 baskets. Seven Clippers players scored double-digit points.

Leonard had 20 points and eight rebounds. John Collins had 12 points and nine rebounds. Lopez finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Derrick Jones Jr. had 11 points and five rebounds. Miller totaled 16 points and six assists. Kobe Sanders had 17 points. Bennedict Mathurin dropped 10 points.

And like that, the Thunder have checked off all of their regular-season boxes. They're officially the first seed for a third consecutive NBA playoffs. Don't think we need to type out why that's important — check out their two Game 7 wins in last year's championship run for proof. It was more stressful than last year to cross that item, they still did it despite the San Antonio Spurs morphing into a winning machine.

Treating this as a dress rehearsal game, the Thunder are both fully healthy and red-hot — two variables you hope they had at this point of the regular season. After struggling in the middle with injuries, OKC is back to winning at a high clip in the final one-third of the year. All you can ask for with this group. We'll see who suits up for the last two regular-season games, but you gotta feel great with where they're mentally and physically at heading into the NBA playoffs.

Let's look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: B

Apr 8, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) is defended by Los Angeles Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. (5) in the second half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

With the half-filled LA crowd slowly coming back to life, Gilgeous-Alexander dashed away any naive hope. Only up by 12 points, he calmly walked to the left-wing spot before he swished in a pull-up outside jumper. That proved to be the closest his old squad would get in the second half.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting, 11 assists and one rebound. He shot 2-of-6 from 3 and went 0-of-1 on free throws. He also had one steal and one block.

Another low-stress game. Not much was asked out of Gilgeous-Alexander. He once again rested the fourth quarter as the Thunder completely blew out their opponent. That's been a trend over their last handful of games. The reigning MVP played within the flow of the offense like the bus driver. He allowed the rest of his teammates to get their shots up.

Despite Kris Dunn, Gilgeous-Alexander got to his spots. He drove to the basket through LA's defense — which isn't the same without Ivica Zubac. When he didn't do that, he populated the mid-range with a handful of pull-up attempts. He even sprinkled in a handful of outside attempts.

The scoring took a backseat. Instead, Gilgeous-Alexander turned into a playmaker. The assists back it up. If LA sent two, he passed it out to the open man. Rinse and repeat. Considering how far ahead the Thunder were on the scoreboard, there was no real sense of urgency to muster up difficult buckets. He either threw the ball up to a rolling big or sprayed it out to the perimeter.

Just textbook stuff. Nothing fancy that will make highlight reels. But points are points — even if they're the boring variety instead of stylish. Gilgeous-Alexander hasn't been asked to tax his legs too much over the last week. Those low-leverage minutes plus whatever rest he gets the rest of the way could pay dividends in the NBA playoffs.

Chet Holmgren: A-plus

Apr 8, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward John Collins (20) is defended by Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) as he drives to the basket in the first half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Jumping off the floor to get the offensive rebound, Collins hoped to catch a highlight. The dunking savant made the critical error at trying to posterize Holmgren. Almost offended at the attempt, the seven-footer completely swallowed the ball away in his nastiest rejection of the night. Talking to himself, he was sky-high on confidence.

Holmgren finished with 30 points on 10-of-13 shooting, 14 rebounds and five assists. He shot 3-of-4 from 3 and went 7-of-10 on free throws. He also had four blocks and two steals.

If you ever wonder what Holmgren looks like at the peak of his powers, rewatch this game film. Just a complete takeover on both ends of the floor. On the cusp of the first seed, the 23-year-old had one of his best games ever to ensure the Thunder didn't mess around with fate.

Showing off his full bag, Holmgren was surgical at all four levels. Around the rim, Gilgeous-Alexander spoonfed him alley-oops. Things were too easy at that level. No offense to Lopez, but LA doesn't possess a true rim protector to limit the attempts. Around the baseline, the seven-footer swished in several attempts. It was at the juncture of the game where the basket probably looked wide-open to him.

And then there were the outside jumpers. Holmgren knocked down his catch-and-shoot looks. Now, that might be his most important variable. Over the last two playoff runs, his outside shot has waned. Credit that to fatigue or whatever you want. But over the last week, it's been the opposite. If he can shoot at a decent clip from the perimeter, that adds a new element to OKC's postseason offense that hasn't frankly been there.

Oh, and Holmgren went to the free-throw line plenty of times. The secretive fourth scoring level in the NBA. It's what separates decent scorers from upper-echelon ones. Holmgren got a taste of that. The Clippers resorted to fouling the seven-footer as he hunted for his shot once he realized he had entered a flow state.

Seven paragraphs in and we're barely touching on Holmgren's defense. Just one-for-one stuff. The box score stats speak for themselves, but watching the game shows even more nuance to how he completely shortens the halfcourt geometry. Aside from Leonard, nobody else dared to frequently attack the rim.

This was one of Holmgren's best games of his career. And I don't think that's reactionary. He had 14 points in the first quarter. And 24 at halftime. The Thunder were in complete control against the Clippers as Gilgeous-Alexander took a backseat to his fellow NBA All-Star's takeover.

Jalen Williams: B

Apr 8, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams (8) drives past Los Angeles Clippers guard Kobe Sanders (4) for a basket in the second half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Hands on his knees, Williams chilled at the left corner spot. Once Holmgren attracted a group of LA defenders, the 24-year-old cut baseline. He went with the up-and-under move to avoid Sander's late contest. The English finish drew oohs and aahs in OKC households.

Williams finished with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting, six rebounds and six assists. He shot 0-of-1 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws. He also had two steals.

While the first seed and Holmgren caught all of the headlines, Williams quietly put the work in as he ramps up for the NBA playoffs with a small sample of games. He continues to add to his momentum as he makes up for lost time. Against the Clippers, he enjoyed some low-stress hoops to get into a rhythm with his mid-range game.

Playing within the flow of the offense, Williams benefited from LA's full attention being placed on Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren. He had a handful of easy dunks as the Clippers lost track of him. Elsewhere, he hunted for his signature pull-up jumpers inside the paint and at the elbow.

Going back to an age-old formula, the Thunder have thrived in their bench lineups. They put this game away without Gilgeous-Alexander in the fourth quarter. You can thank Williams' return to comfort for that. Just having another guy who can get their own bucket eases a huge load from everyone's shoulders. Everybody gets back into a suitable spot. Things just flow better instead of relying on a duct-taped offense.

Aside from capturing the first seed, the other big goal of OKC's in the final month of the regular season was to see Williams get in a groove before the NBA playoffs. Think you can say they're near or at that point. While you can't officially cross it off like a black-or-white thing — ala the NBA standings — just watching these games makes you feel more confident about how much rust he's knocked off.

Isaiah Joe: A

Apr 8, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe (11) heads down the sideline after a three-point basket in the first half against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Running dribble handoff action with Holmgren, Joe didn't need much space or time. He swished in a deep outside jumper in the early stages of the fourth quarter. A couple of possessions later, he ballooned OKC's lead back to over 20 points with a corner make.

Joe finished with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting, two rebounds and two assists. He shot 4-of-7 from 3 and went 5-of-5 on free throws.

Not trying to jinx it, but Joe has been scorching hot for the last handful of games. He's putting up some insane outside shooting numbers that resemble the percentages rim-running centers put up. Helping put the Clippers away with their ambitious comeback attempts, he had 16 points in the second half — specifically, 13 in the fourth frame.

Considering his body of work, it shouldn't be a shocker to see Joe universally viewed as one of the league's best outside shooters. The Thunder have enjoyed him breaking out this season on both ends of the floor. He's carved out a must-play spot in OKC's rotation.

At this point, if you can kick out the ball to Joe around the perimeter, you're guaranteed an assist. The Clippers were the latest team to stress themselves out at figuring out how to guard the Thunder. Do you collapse the paint at Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren or close out hard on OKC's designated sharpshooter?

The formula has been a resounding success in the regular season. Now, you hope Joe can carry this over into the NBA playoffs. Carving out a helluva career, that's the only weak point left for him to overcome. If he can put up these numbers in high-leverage moments, that goes a long way in helping the Thunder avoid any scoring droughts.

Isaiah Hartenstein: B

Apr 8, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) dunks over Los Angeles Clippers center Brook Lopez (11) in the second half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Rolling to the basket, Hartenstein cleaned up Williams' missed driving layup. The 27-year-old jumped up with force as he threw down the loud two-handed jam. The second-chance bucket showed just how much he completely changes OKC's dynamics on the boards.

Hartenstein finished with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, seven rebounds and one assist. He shot 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had one block.

The Thunder are just a different team with Hartenstein. And for the better. He helps them stay active in the rebound department. Without him, you can really sense how small OKC is in that area. Too often do they get beaten to the glass by the opposition for second-chance looks. The seven-footer plugs that hole when he's on the floor.

The wrinkles he adds on offense should be known by now. He helps run the second unit as a secondary playmaker. He also gives the Thunder a legitimate lob threat. Calf injuries have limited his production this regular season, but there's no question that all of the hassle is worth it.

There's a reason why the Thunder strategized to only play Hartenstein in the first half of their win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Going all out here to capture the first seed, they needed him to play his first back-to-back in months to accomplish that goal.

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This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder clinch 1st seed with 128-110 win over Clippers