NBA champions the Oklahoma City Thunder rally to down the Memphis Grizzlies
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The Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 13 of his 35 points in the third quarter.
PHOTO: AFP
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LOS ANGELES – National Basketball Association (NBA) champions the Oklahoma City Thunder erased a 19-point first-half deficit to beat the Grizzlies 114-100 in Memphis on Nov 9 and improve their league-best record to 10-1.
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 13 of his 35 points in the third quarter as the Thunder surged to the lead and held on to continue their mastery of the Grizzlies, whom they swept in the first round of last season’s play-offs.
Gilgeous-Alexander, 27, added seven rebounds, six assists and two steals, as Chet Holmgren and Ajay Mitchell added 21 points each for Oklahoma City.
“We know in this league so many variables are thrown at you on a nightly basis,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “You’ve just got to figure out what the task is that night and get it done. We’ve done that on multiple occasions in the past couple of years. We built that muscle pretty well and it showed.”
Jaren Jackson Jr led the Grizzlies with 17 points and seven rebounds. Ja Morant added 11 points, three rebounds and eight assists.
The Grizzlies were up 33-25 after the first quarter. They led by as many as 19 on the way to a 62-51 half-time advantage.
But the Thunder stormed back after the break, outscoring the Grizzlies 34-18 in the third quarter to seize an 85-80 lead heading into the final frame.
The Grizzlies tied it twice in the fourth, but Mitchell drove for a lay-up that put Oklahoma City up for good with 8min 5sec remaining and Gilgeous-Alexander delivered a pair of three-pointers and a three-point play in a nine-point outburst as the Thunder pulled away.
“My shot wasn’t falling throughout the whole night – that didn’t deter me,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I just stuck with it. Made a few just in time for the W.”
The Houston Rockets, led by 31 points from two-time champion Kevin Durant, rallied late in Milwaukee to beat the Bucks 122-115.
Alperen Sengun added 23 points and 11 rebounds, with Jabari Smith Jr and Reed Sheppard scoring 16 apiece for the Rockets, who bounced back from a loss on Nov 7 to the San Antonio Spurs that ended their five-game winning streak.
The Bucks had led since the first quarter, but Durant connected on an efficient 11-of-15 shots and handed out seven assists and the Rockets outscored the Bucks 22-7 over the final 4:30.
“We weathered the storm,” Durant said. “It was a great, great finish for us.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo, coming off a 41-point performance in the Bucks’ win over the Chicago Bulls on Nov 7, scored 37 points.
In New York, the Knicks pushed their perfect home record to 6-0 with a 134-98 blowout of the one-win Brooklyn Nets.
Detroit’s Cade Cunningham scored 26 points and handed out 11 assists to propel the Pistons to a sixth straight victory, 111-108 over the 76ers in Philadelphia. AFP
