Golden State Warriors top Oklahoma City Thunder in NBA, despite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 52 points
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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (centre), Golden State Warriors guard Dennis Schroder (right) and Gui Santos competing for the ball.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
SAN FRANCISCO – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander mused that “maybe my 52 points tonight wasn’t in the best interest of the team” after the Golden State Warriors rallied to overcome his second-highest career tally to stun the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-109 in the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Jan 29.
“It sucks,” the Canadian guard was quoted by ESPN as saying. “Me personally, I play to win. Winning comes first and foremost, and if I don’t win, I am not satisfied. So maybe my 52 points tonight wasn’t in the best interest of the team.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, however, admitted: “I don’t know what to do with Shai. I asked (Thunder coach) Mark (Daigneault) to just leave him on the bench for a couple more minutes, and... Mark just laughed.”
Stephen Curry bounced back from a four-point first half with five second-half three-pointers to help his side to the win at Chase Centre in San Francisco.
Andrew Wiggins scored a team-high 27 points and Curry finished with 21 points for the Warriors, who beat the Western Conference front runners for the second time in three meetings this season.
Kevon Looney chipped in with a career-high-tying 18 points off the bench as Golden State earned their third win in four games.
Gilgeous-Alexander logged the second 50-point effort of his career. He put up 54 in a home win over the Utah Jazz on Jan 22.
Wiggins said: “He’s cold. He’s tough. He can score at all three levels, he gets to the foul line and he doesn’t stop. The whole game he’s at you... We did the best we can.”
Thunder forward Jalen Williams added: “Sometimes, even when you’re out there, you kind of get caught watching.
“It’s kind of just one of those things that you got to snap out of it a little bit and not get caught watching and be ready to be an outlet for him or cut or still be engaged in the offence.”
Down by as many as 14 in the first half and playing for the second night in a row, the Warriors (24-23) grabbed the lead for good at 94-93 with eight minutes and 18 seconds remaining on a pair of free throws by Looney.
During a stretch in which Curry was resting, Golden State went up by six at the 4min 4sec mark thanks to scoring from four different players, including Brandin Podziemski, who hit a pair of shots.
The margin was just three before Curry drilled the biggest shot of the night, a 33-footer that put Golden State in charge at 109-103 with 1min 52sec to go.
The Thunder (37-9), who opened a two-game Western swing with a win at the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan 26, never got closer than four after that.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who single-handedly outscored the Warriors in the first quarter with a 21-point performance, finished 16 for 29 from the field. He was 18 for 21 at the free-throw line.
Williams backed his star teammate with 26 points and Isaiah Joe had 17.
Elsewhere, Donovan Mitchell scored 34 points and Evan Mobley collected 22 points and 15 rebounds, lifting the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers to a wire-to-wire 126-106 victory over the Miami Heat.
Fellow Eastern Conference contenders the Boston Celtics breezed to a 122-100 home win over the Chicago Bulls, as Kristaps Porzingis scored a season-high 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. REUTERS
