Oklahoma City Thunder win streak hits 14 as Victor Wembanyama triumphs in 100th NBA game

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Thunder, as a team of 15 “really skilled basketball players”, just keep getting better and are not ready to stop any time soon.

On Jan 3, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points to lead the team to their 14th consecutive National Basketball Association (NBA) victory, a 117-107 home win over the New York Knicks.

The Thunder matched the longest win streak in franchise history from the 1995-96 season, when they were the Seattle SuperSonics, and also snapped New York’s nine-game win streak, the Knicks’ longest since 2013.

It was only the fourth time in the NBA’s 79-year history that teams on win streaks of nine or more faced each other.

Gilgeous-Alexander hit 12 of 26 from the floor and a perfect seven from the free-throw line, while Jalen Williams added 20 points and Aaron Wiggins had 19 off the bench as Thunder reserves outscored the Knicks bench 35-5.

“They made big plays all night,” said Gilgeous-Alexander of his bench.

“We’re a roster of 15 men, 15 professionals, 15 really skilled basketball players. Guys were ready for their moment.”

The Knicks closed the second quarter on a 23-10 run for a 66-54 half-time lead, Mikal Bridges scoring 19 of his team-high 24 points in the first half.

But the Western Conference-leading Thunder recovered to 88-80 entering the fourth quarter and an 8-0 Oklahoma City run capped by an Isaiah Joe three-pointer pulled the hosts ahead 92-91 with 8min 15sec to play.

They then went on a 10-0 run, with Wiggins hitting a three-point play and a three-pointer for a 108-101 lead with 2:22 remaining and held off the Knicks from there.

“Our (half-time) message was just stick to our identity. We’ve gone down at half-time the past two or three games. We’ve been there before. We know it’s a long game, a lot of things can change,” added Gilgeous-Alexander.

“We’ve just got to play to our identity as much as we can and when we do so, we usually win.”

The Thunder remain top of the West on 29-5 after their victory.

Elsewhere, Frenchman Victor Wembanyama was a winner in his 100th NBA game, making two key plays in the last seconds of San Antonio’s 113-110 triumph at Denver.

On the eve of his 21st birthday, the 2.21m star assisted on Chris Paul’s go-ahead jumper with 54 seconds remaining and stole a Nikola Jokic pass with four seconds to play to set up Devin Vassell’s dunk for the final points.

In a battle of superstar big men, 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year Wembanyama had 35 points and 18 rebounds with four assists, while three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic had 41 points and 18 rebounds plus nine assists.

Wembanyama had a historic first season, the only campaign where an NBA player had more than 1,500 points, 700 rebounds, 250 assists, 250 blocked shots and 100 three-pointers.

This season, “Wemby” is averaging 25.6 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.9 blocked shots a game as well as 3.3 three-pointers per contest.

“A hundred games is a lot of experience if you think about it,” he said of his milestone.

“A lot of mistakes, a lot of struggles, but it’s a hell of an adventure.”

NBA-best Cleveland improved to 30-4 with a 134-122 victory at Dallas, the Cavaliers stretching their win streak to nine games powered by Evan Mobley’s 34 points and 10 rebounds.

The Mavericks (20-15), who dropped their fourth consecutive game, were without star Luka Doncic due to a left calf strain.

Boston’s Derrick White scored 23 points, while Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard each added 20 to give reigning NBA champions the Celtics (26-9) a 109-86 victory at Houston.

LeBron James scored 30 points and Anthony Davis returned from a one-game absence to collect 18 points and 19 rebounds, as the Los Angeles Lakers earned a 119-102 win over the visiting Atlanta Hawks.

James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, passed Michael Jordan for most 30-point games in NBA history at 563.

In addition, he appeared in his 1,523rd career game, moving him past Dirk Nowitzki for fourth in league history. Robert Parish leads on 1,611. REUTERS, AFP