Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder back to winning ways with a 119-103 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
Reigning NBA MVP Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to a morale-boosting victory after losing to Minnesota on Friday.
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“We weren’t at our best tonight, but we did enough to win, but we still need to get better,” Gilgeous-Alexander told NBC.
Memphis got off to a strong start, leading by seven in the first quarter before Oklahoma City took control in the second quarter.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 24 points from Jalen Williams, while Ajay Mitchell scored 16 points off the bench.
Gilgeous-Alexander added 31 points, continuing his incredible scoring streak.
The Canadian star has now scored 20 or more points in 100 consecutive games, becoming only the second player after Wilt Chamberlain to achieve the feat.
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“My teammates allow me to shoot whatever I want,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
“The coaching staff believes in me and I’m trying to get better every day.”
The win improved Oklahoma City’s record to 26-3, atop the Western Conference. The Thunder will face the second-place Spurs on Tuesday.
In other action on Monday, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Utah Jazz 135-112 in Colorado to continue their pursuit of Oklahoma City in the West.
The Nuggets (21-7) led from start to finish as Nikola Jokic had 14 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his 14th triple-double of the season and 178th of his career.
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Only Oscar Robertson (181) and Russell Westbrook (207) have more triple-doubles than the Denver star.
Jokic got 27 points from Jamal Murray, while Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 21 points off the bench. Cameron Johnson and Peyton Watson each scored 20 points.
In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers 103-95, extending their winning streak to three games.
The Indiana Pacers (6-23) led by 20 points early in the third quarter and the Celtics looked set to suffer a blowout loss.
But Boston outscored Indiana 60-34 in the second half to win, moving them into third place in the Eastern Conference behind leaders Detroit and the New York Knicks.
Jaylen Brown led Boston’s counterattack, scoring 14 of his 31 points in the final quarter to help the Celtics tie the game.
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