The Thunder's 90-88 loss to the Clippers at Staples Center on Monday was the first meeting between the two teams since one of the most influential trades of the summer. The 1991-92 season saw them win 45 games led by Danny Manning and Ron Harper.
Former Clipper Chris Paul had 22 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists against his old team, while Gallinari added 14 points.
The Clippers played a tribute video Monday for the two players it sent to OKC in July: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari.
LA Clippers All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard will miss his third consecutive game. George, a 29-year-old six-time All-Star coming off a season in which he finished third in MVP and Defensive Player of the Year voting, commanded a steep price - one of the steepest in National Basketball Association history. And then how many picks that they got?
Hey, this Clippers team is expected to go deep and possibly win it all so the fact the Thunder were in a game that came down to the final whistle is something the players can all be proud of.
Gallinari drained the game-tying 3-pointer with just under a minute left on the clock. Two free throws by Paul gave Oklahoma City a two-point lead with 31.3 seconds left before George delivered the game-winner.
Gallinari was initially ruled to have been fouled with 7.3 seconds remaining, but the call was overturned by the officials after the Clippers challenged it. Oklahoma City were hurt by nine turnovers to four for Los Angeles in the quarter. The visitors outscored the Clippers 30-19 in the second quarter.
Clippers guard Patrick Beverley, who sat out the previous two games with a sore left calf, returned and scored nine points, all on 3-pointers.
The Thunder remain winless in five road games and dropped to 5-8 overall.
