Somehow, the Oklahoma City Thunder are now just half a game away from the top-six picture in the Western Conference. That’s after they scored a 101-100 upset road win Tuesday night against Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Thunder are also now finally back to .500 for the first time in months. T

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder had several cracks at cracking the .500 again after going 4-4 early this season but they struck out on a total of nine chances in which a win would have landed them back to .500 — the longest such streak in NBA history.

“The @okcthunder won tonight to get back to .500 at 36-36, their first time being .500 or better since they were 4-4,” per OptaSTATS. “They had lost their last 9 games where they had a chance to reach .500, the longest such losing streak in a single season in NBA history.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paced the Thunder versus the Clippers with a game-high 31 points on 12-for-25 shooting from the field, while also adding seven rebounds and four assists in 36 minutes. The win means a lot to the Thunder as they were able to beat a legitimate NBA title contender in enemy territory. Whether the Thunder make the NBA Playoffs or not, they are starting to look like the team its management envisioned it to be when Oklahoma City started its rebuild.

The playoff race in the Western Conference is so tight at the moment, with multiple teams separated by only just a game or fewer in the standings.

Coming up next of Oklahoma City is a matchup against the Clippers again in the same location on Thursday.