OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Memphis Grizzlies 119-103 on Monday night after losing two of three games in a matchup of a team missing several key contributors.
Gilgeous-Alexander made 11 of 20 shots and contributed 8 assists and 4 steals. It was his 100th consecutive game with at least 20 points, the second-longest streak in NBA history.
advertise
Jalen Williams scored 24 points and Ajay Mitchell added 16 off the bench before leaving Oklahoma City (26-3) midway through the fourth quarter without starters Chet Holmgren (illness) and Isaiah Hartenstein (calf soreness).
Cedric Coward and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 15 points apiece for Memphis (13-16), which was without injuries to starters Ja Morant (ankle) and Zach Eddy (ankle). The Grizzlies committed 23 turnovers and Oklahoma City scored 31 points.
The two teams combined for 80 three-pointers. The Grizzlies made 18 of 41 shots (44%) and the Thunder made 15 of 39 shots (38%).
At halftime, Oklahoma City led 67-54. The Thunder turned a 57-47 lead into a 17-point advantage on a dunk by Williams, a deep 3-pointer by Lu Dort and a layup by Gilgeous-Alexander. Three Caldwell-Pope turnovers fueled the blitz.
advertise
Memphis cut the Thunder’s lead to 78-71 on Caldwell-Pope’s corner 3-pointer with 2:25 left in the third quarter. Williams hit two jumpers and then dunked on Christian Koloko to make it 84-71.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Thunder led 93-75 with Mitchell’s three-pointer, but Memphis launched a counterattack. Caldwell-Pope hit a three-pointer and the Grizzlies chased the score to 101-97, but Gilgeous-Alexander responded with a three-pointer and then assisted Brandon Carlson to hit a three-pointer from the corner, extending the lead to 107-97.
That was as close as Memphis could get. Gilgeous-Alexander scored consecutively and Oklahoma City extended its lead to 113-99.
Next
Grizzlies: Visit the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.
Thunder: Visit the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
