NBA: OKC silences Utah, Suns win seventh straight

The Oklahoma City Thunder tightened their grip on the NBA's final Western Conference play-in berth with a 114-98 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday, edging a half-game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 22 points to lead seven Oklahoma City players in double figures as the Thunder snapped a three-game losing streak.

Josh Giddey added 17 points, eight assists and eight rebounds and Aaron Wiggins scored 15 off the bench as Oklahoma City's reserves delivered 50 points.

Now, even if the Mavs win their last two games, the Thunder can clinch 10th place -- and the final spot for the play-in tournament for the seventh- through 10th-placed teams -- if they beat Memphis on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro scored 24 points apiece to lead Miami to a 129-101 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers that kept alive the Heat's hopes of avoiding the play-in altogether.

With two games left, the Heat still have a chance to grab sixth place in the Eastern Conference from the Brooklyn Nets, although the Nets can lock up the spot with a win in either of their last two games.

Butler scored 14 of his 24 points in the third quarter and also handed out six assists before taking a seat in the fourth period.

Herro, who had five of the Heat's 18 three-pointers, said the Heat were more focused on finding consistency than avoiding the play-in.

"It's just being consistent for us," he said. "No matter what, coming in with the same energy wherever we are.

"Wherever we end up in the seedings, we'll be all right," he added. "We like our chances."

The 76ers, already locked into the third seed in the East behind Milwaukee and Boston, coughed up 17 turnovers, falling into a 25-point hole in the first half.

The Heat led by as many as 33 and Sixers coach Doc Rivers sat his starters in the fourth quarter.

Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, coming off a 52-point performance in a hard-fought victory over the Celtics on Tuesday, scored 21 points and James Harden added 14.

"We just didn't come to play tonight," Rivers acknowledged. "We didn't have great energy. Very difficult game to have energy, honestly. It was an exercise tonight."

In Orlando, Danny Green scored 21 points and Cedi Osman added 19 for the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 118-94 victory over the Magic.

Both the playoff-bound Cavs and the out-of-contention Magic rested key players, two days after the Cavs' 117-113 victory over Orlando secured the fourth seed in the East and home-court advantage in the first round.

Donovan Mitchell, whose 43 points for Cleveland on Tuesday was his fourth straight 40-point game, sat out along with Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro.

'Mission accomplished' 

In Phoenix, the Suns had all they could handle from a Denver lineup made up of reserves, pulling away late for a 119-115 victory -- their seventh in a row.

The top-seeded Nuggets rested starters Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

The Suns, meanwhile, had 29 points from trade deadline acquisition Kevin Durant, who logged more than 40 minutes as he continues to build chemistry with new teammates Chris Paul and Devin Booker.

Paul made a career-high seven three-pointers on the way to 25 points. Deandre Ayton added 16 and Booker chipped in 15 for the Suns, who took the lead for good on Durant's three-pointer with 4:10 to play.

In all, there were 23 lead changes, including six in the fourth quarter.

Bruce Brown led the Nuggets with 31 points and Reggie Jackson added 20.

"It was good to get some late-game minutes and figure out what we wanted to do on both sides of the ball," said Durant, whose on-court time with his new teammates has been limited by injuries.

"I feel like it was mission accomplished tonight."

Agence France-Presse

Thunder beat New Orleans 117-112, end Pelicans’ 4-game run

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and rookie Aaron Wiggins added a career-high 24 as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat New Orleans 117-112 Sunday night, snapping the Pelicans’ four-game win streak.

Wiggins, who had never scored in double figures this season, eclipsed his previous season best by halftime when he led the Thunder with 11 points.

Recently inserted into the starting lineup for his defense, the second-round draft pick from Florida said there was nothing magical about his unexpected offensive outburst.

“I just think I did a really good job of trying to find open spots,” Wiggins said. “When I’m on the bench, when I’m not in the game, I watch those guys who are really good at playing off ball. I try to make sure when I’m on the court, I’m doing those little things that can help the team get going. My guys found me in open spots and I was just trying to make plays.”

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Wiggins’ performance shows growth.

“We’ve been trying to give him confidence and become an offensive player, but to do it inside the role that he’s in and inside the team, which is a hard balance,” Daigneault said. “This was the cumulative effect of a lot of development and a lot of process and growth for Aaron.”

In his third season with the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander passed James Harden on the Thunder’s all-time scoring list. He scored eight points down the stretch when Oklahoma City was trying to close out the victory.

“What it really comes down to is me being aggressive whenever I get the opportunity,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “I saw a few things on how they were playing defense when I was on the bench. I just wanted to come back in and attack those things. But for sure, I want to assert myself.”

Josh Hart had 29 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Pelicans. Garret Temple came off the bench to score 22 points, including 15 in the first half.

Oklahoma City grabbed a 17-3 lead just four minutes into the first quarter, scoring 15 straight points after Josh Hart gave the Pelicans their only advantage of the first three periods with an opening-minute 3-pointer. Oklahoma City held a 14-point edge, 32-18, at the end of the first quarter.

The Thunder expanded the lead to 17 early in the second period before cooling off. The Pelicans cut their deficit to 57-49 at intermission. New Orleans scored eight straight early in the third to make it 60-58 before the Thunder countered with a 10-2 run over the next two minutes and went on to lead 89-81 heading into the fourth.

New Orleans outscored the Thunder 11-2 to start the fourth quarter and took a 92-91 lead with 8:10 left on a dunk by Willy Hernangomez. Kenrich Williams hit a 3-pointer at the other end as the Thunder regained the lead and held on the rest of the way.

-Associated Press-

NBA: Thunder down Grizzlies to avenge 73-point loss

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points to fuel the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder to a 102-99 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

Rookie Josh Giddey collected a career-high-tying 19 points and a career-best 11 assists and Kenrich Williams added 13 points off the bench for the Thunder, who avenged a 152-79 shellacking in Memphis on Dec. 2. The 73-point margin in the earlier contest was the largest in NBA history.

Memphis' Desmond Bane celebrated his 100th career game by draining five 3-pointers and finishing with 25 points. 

Dillon Brooks scored 19 points, and Ja Morant had 16 points and eight assists in his return from a 12-game absence caused by spraining his left knee on Nov. 26.

Jaren Jackson Jr. had 15 points and Steven Adams recorded 12 of his 14 rebounds in the first quarter for the Grizzlies, who have dropped two in a row following a sizzling 10-1 run.

Gilgeous-Alexander's layup gave Oklahoma City a 94-93 lead with 1:42 to play before Morant answered with a short jumper on the next possession. Gilgeous-Alexander alertly found a cutting Giddey for a layup with 50 seconds left to regain the advantage for the Thunder.

Memphis' Kyle Anderson misfired on a mid-range jumper before Gilgeous-Alexander made an uncontested dunk off an inbounds pass to push Oklahoma City's lead to three points with 16.6 seconds remaining.

Gilgeous-Alexander stole the ball off another inbounds pass and made two free throws with 12.6 seconds to go. Morant responded with two free throws, and after Giddey made 1 of 2 foul shots, Bane's tip shot trimmed the deficit to two.

Oklahoma City's Luguentz Dort split two free throws before Brooks' desperation heave from beyond half-court fell short to end the game.

Morant opened eyes with a pronounced bounce pass that caught Xavier Tillman in stride for a fastbreak dunk to give the Grizzlies a 37-21 lead early in the second quarter. The Thunder, however, slowly chipped away and forged a tie before Bane sank a 3-pointer to allow Memphis to seize a 50-47 advantage at halftime.

The Thunder hit the ground running to start the third quarter, scoring 25 of the first 37 points to take a 72-62 lead. Dort drained three 3-pointers in that surge, but the Grizzlies countered with a 10-2 run to end the quarter.

-reuters-

NBA: Thunder stun Clippers on buzzer-beating 3-pointer

Luguentz Dort scored 29 and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the host Oklahoma City Thunder a 104-103 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.

In Wednesday's home loss to New Orleans, Gilgeous-Alexander hit a 3-pointer to tie the game in the closing seconds before the Pelicans' Devonte' Graham hit a desperation shot to end the game.

This time, Gilgeous-Alexander didn't leave any time.

The Clippers' Justise Winslow gave the Thunder an opening, missing a pair of free throws with 7.8 seconds to play and Los Angeles up two.

Gilgeous-Alexander grabbed the rebound, the Thunder called their final timeout to advance the ball up the court, and Gilgeous-Alexander finished it off with the 3-pointer to give the Thunder their first home win since Nov. 17.

The win was just the fourth in 17 games for Oklahoma City. The Clippers have lost two consecutive games.

The Thunder led for much of the game but Los Angeles turned up the heat defensively to take the lead in the fourth, forcing eight turnovers in the fourth.

That included one in the final minute, after the Thunder's Dort picked the ball away from Reggie Jackson and went barreling toward the basket with a chance to put Oklahoma City back up front.

But Dort lost the ball as he went up toward the basket, and Nicolas Batum took a feed from Jackson and drilled a 3-pointer at the other end to extend the lead to four with 33.8 seconds to play.

Instead of calling his final timeout with 17 seconds left after Jackson's 3-pointer, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault elected to let his team try to score quickly. Gilgeous-Alexander delivered with a driving layup, which ultimately helped set up his heroics to end the game.

Luke Kennard led the Clippers with a season-high 27 points, tying a career-high with seven 3-pointers. Terance Mann added 18 and Jackson 16.

Dort, who missed Wednesday's game with a left ankle injury, returned to go 12 of 19 from the floor. Gilgeous-Alexander added 18. Josh Giddey had 18 rebounds and 10 assists to go with eight points.

-reuters-

NBA: Thunder pull out victory over Knicks

Hamidou Diallo scored 11 of his season-high 23 points in the fourth quarter Friday night as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away from the New York Knicks for a 101-89 win.

Diallo also added a season-high 11 rebounds despite coming off the bench for the Thunder, which trailed by 11 points in the first quarter before coming back to win their second straight.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also had a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds while Al Horford added 15 points and eight assists.

Julius Randle had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. RJ Barrett scored 19 points while Elfrid Payton (16 points) and Austin Rivers (12 points) also got into double digits.

Barrett scored nine points in the first quarter and twice hit layups that put the Knicks ahead by 11 points.

The Thunder stormed back and took the lead at 28-26 following an 18-5 run spanning the first two periods. Kenrich Williams ended the run with a game-tying 3-pointer and a go-ahead layup.

The Knicks responded with a 7-0 run, during which they held Oklahoma City scoreless for 3:22.

The teams traded the lead three times in the final two minutes before a putback dunk by Mitchell Robinson with just under eight seconds left tied the score 42-42 at the half.

The teams weren't separated by more than three points in the third until the Thunder took a 61-56 lead following a 7-0 run in which Diallo drained a 3-pointer and Gilgeous-Alexander hit back-to-back layups.

The teams went cold again over the final three minutes, during which Oklahoma City outscored the Knicks 6-0 until Rivers hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to cut the gap to 69-63.

Rivers opened the fourth with a driving layup for the Knicks, who closed within five points three more times before a layup by Isaiah Roby began an 8-2 run to give the Thunder its first double-digit lead at 86-75 with 4:46 left.

New York got no closer than nine the rest of the way.

-reuters-

NBA: Thunder pulls away for win over Trail Blazers

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded 21 points and nine rebounds and Dennis Schroder also scored 21 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder posted a stunning 108-96 victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night.

Chris Paul added 20 points and Nerlens Noel had 13 points and 12 rebounds as the Thunder won for the fifth time in the past seven games. Danilo Gallinari had 12 points for Oklahoma City.

Damian Lillard scored 26 points but was a woeful 8 of 24 from the field, including 2 of 12 from 3-point range. CJ McCollum added 20 points and Hassan Whiteside recorded 14 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shot for Portland, which has lost three of its last four games.

The Trail Blazers were just 7 of 24 from the field in the fourth quarter while being outscored 26-18.

Overall, Portland shot just 36 percent from the field and was 9 of 33 from behind the arc.

The Thunder shot 41.2 percent from the field, including 11 of 32 from 3-point range.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored five straight on a 3-pointer and a driving hoop to give Oklahoma City a 100-89 lead with 3:13 remaining.

McCollum drove for a layup with 2:31 left but Steven Adams made two free throws and Gilgeous-Alexander hit three of four as the Thunder increased the lead to 105-91 with 1:28 left. Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts then cleared his bench.

Oklahoma City led by 11 points early in the third quarter before Portland used an 11-2 burst to move within 62-60.

A short time later, Lillard made all three free throws after being fouled while shooting from behind the arc to give the Trail Blazers a 66-65 edge with 5:24 remaining. Lillard scored 16 points in the quarter.

The Thunder received a three-point play from Noel with 19.3 seconds remaining to take an 82-78 lead into the final stanza.

Paul scored 16 first-half points as the Thunder led, 55-47, at the break.

Schroder tallied 11 points during a 16-2 burst that saw Oklahoma City take a 49-31 advantage with 4:43 left.

The Trail Blazers responded with their own 16-2 surge to move within four points before the Thunder scored the final four points of the half.

source: news.abs-cbn.com