Gilgeous-Alexander stars as Thunder stun Timberwolves
LOS ANGELES – The Oklahoma City Thunder, fueled by 34 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, knocked off Western Conference leaders Minnesota, 129-106, on Tuesday (Wednesday Manila time).
The Thunder underscored their status as Western Conference contenders with a convincing home win over the Timberwolves.
Jalen Williams scored 21 points, rookie Chet Holmgren and Lu Dort added 20 apiece and Oklahoma City made 18 three-pointers in a game they led by as many as 25 points.
"I think we played together on both ends of the floor for the most part of the night," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "When we do that and trust that, things go our way usually."
The Thunder connected on better than 60% of their shots from the field and, despite a size disadvantage, were dominant defensively, harrying the Timberwolves into 24 turnovers.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 25 points. Mike Conley added 17 and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 16.
It was another dismal night in Detroit, where the Pistons' 118-112 loss to the Brooklyn Nets saw them set a single-season record for consecutive defeats.
"Nobody wants something like this attached to them," said Pistons coach Monty Williams, whose team hasn't won since October 28.
It was a nail-biter in New Orleans, meanwhile, where Ja Morant scored 31 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies in a 116-115 overtime victory over the Pelicans.
The Grizzlies improved to 4-0 since Morant returned from a 25-game NBA suspension.
Desmond Bane scored 27 points, his three-pointer with 33.6 seconds left in regulation pulling the Grizzlies within one point after they trailed by as many as 15.
Jaren Jackson's free throw tied it, but he missed a second from the foul line and they went to the extra session, where Bane's free throw for a 116-112 lead proved enough for the win over a Pelicans team led by Brandon Ingram's 24 points.
In Chicago, DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points and Andre Drummond added 24 points and 25 rebounds in his first start of the season for the Bulls, who beat the Atlanta Hawks, 118-113.
Drummond added three steals and two blocks as he got the start in place of injured Nikola Vucevic and helped the Bulls keep high-flying Hawk Trae Young in check.
Young
