They might not be winning most of the time, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his young Oklahoma City Thunder teammates have been putting on a show of late – dramatics that came at the Clippers’ expense Saturday.

Gilgeous-Alexander sank the dagger on his former team and then danced his way off the court in what he’d describe as a Lamar Odom-inspired step.

But first, with about three second left, Gilgeous-Alexander got the defending Nicolas Batum on his heels and then took wide step backward to create a clear look at the 28-foot 3-point shot that gave Oklahoma City a 104-103 victory before a crowd of 15,123 at Paycom Center.

The game-winner earned the Thunder (9-19) just their fourth victory in 17 games – and helped wash away any sour taste that lingered following Devonte Graham’s 61-foot buzzer-beater that lifted New Orleans over the Thunder on Wednesday – when Gilgeous-Alexander drained a 30-footer to tie the game with 1.4 seconds left.

“It feels good,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters Saturday in Oklahoma City. “It’s like this one feels a little better after the last one. Built up disappointment.”

The dejection was all the Clippers’ on Saturday.

“Physically I feel good, but I mean, everything kind of doesn’t feel good when you lose a game like that,” a visibly disappointed Clippers guard Luke Kennard said on Zoom after scoring 27 points in 39 minutes, both season highs. “Just frustrating. We shouldn’t have lost that game, plain and simple. We didn’t play as hard as them, they played a lot harder than us.”

Batum echoed Kennard’s critique, bemoaning Oklahoma City’s 17 offensive rebounds (the second-most the Clippers have allowed this year), as well as its 14 fastbreak points.

“If we clean that up, we have a good win tonight, we don’t put ourselves in that situation,” said Batum, who scored 12 mostly clutch points in his return after missing three games with a sprained ankle.

Coach Tyronn Lue wasn’t as critical of his short-handed squad’s effort, suggesting that there was, actually, much to like (26 assists and 13 turnovers, specifically) despite the outcome.

“You can play well sometimes and lose and tonight was one of those nights,” Lue said. “We played well enough to win, and we just lost the game on a last-second shot, so just keep plugging away.”

Still without stars Kawhi Leonard (out indefinitely with recovering from a torn ACL) and Paul George (who missed his fifth consecutive game with a sprained elbow), as well as Marcus Morris Sr. (health and safety), the Clippers (16-14) withstood a pounding in the paint, where they were outscored 52-38.

And they dealt with a near-triple double from Thunder rookie Josh Giddey (eight points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists) and a 29-point effort from Lu Dort.

But Gilgeous-Alexander broke them in the end.

A fan favorite as a rookie for the Clippers in 2018-19, they traded Gilgeous-Alexander to Oklahoma City as part of a blockbuster deal that brought aboard George, pairing him with Leonard.

Those All-Stars were in street clothes Saturday, with a front-row seat on the bench to see SGA, the smooth Canadian guard who was affectionately called “Slink” by former Clipper teammate Lou Williams, score 10 of his 18 points in the final period.

Meanwhile, the available Clippers – led by Batum and Kennard – fought to give themselves a chance against the Western Conference’s worst team.

Batum logged 25 minutes, more than he expected. But the Clippers needed him late, as Lue predicted they would: Six of his points came in the fourth quarter to help the Clippers get over the hump against the spry young Thunder.

He intercepted a pass and then got free for a 3 to give the Clippers an 86-85 lead, their first since the first quarter, and then he stroked his fourth and final 3-pointer to give the Clippers the lead once more, 101-97.

Just before that, Kennard – who shot 9 for 18 (season-highs there, too), including a career-high-tying 7 3-pointers on 13 attempts – drained his final 3 to give the Clippers a 98-97 lead.

With lead 103-101, the Clippers had an opportunity to extend their advantage to four points with 7.8 seconds to go, but Justise Winslow – who, in his first start, had nine points and nine rebounds and helped slow Gilgeous-Alexander early – missed both of his free throws.

And Gilgeous-Alexander grabbed the rebound to return possession to OKC, which took a timeout and put the ball back in his hands for the win.

Terance Mann played a season-high 41 minutes and finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. Reggie Jackson added 16 points on 6-for-20 shooting.

Isaiah Hartenstein suffered an apparent ankle sprain in the second half and left the floor gingerly. Lue said he didn’t immediately have details about the facilitating center’s status.

“It was a team effort, and that’s why we won tonight.”

— @shaiglalex pic.twitter.com/jHSNKMtqwC

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 19, 2021