Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made his team’s only two field goals of the final 8:25 to cap a 35-point performance, Isaiah Hartenstein recorded a third consecutive double-double and the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Stephen Curry-less Golden State Warriors 105-101 in San Francisco on Wednesday night.
Hartenstein finished with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Thunder, who managed a third straight win despite losing Jalen Williams to an eye injury late in the first half.
With Curry watching from the bench as he dealt with sore knees, the Warriors got a team-high 19 points from Jonathan Kuminga and double-figure scoring from five teammates, but couldn’t escape a third straight defeat.
After seeing a 19-point lead disappear into a 94-93 deficit on a 3-pointer by the Warriors’ Buddy Hield with 8:14 remaining, the Thunder turned to the league’s No. 1 defense and the scoring of Gilgeous-Alexander, who hit a 3-pointer to produce a tie with 4:11 to play and another with 1:25 left that gave Oklahoma City a 100-96 lead with 1:25 left.
Golden State got within 102-101 with 11.1 seconds remaining on an Andrew Wiggins 3-pointer, but Alexander made one free throw with 7.7 seconds left and Lu Dort blocked a Wiggins runner that could have tied the score with 3.4 seconds to go.
Gilgeous-Alexander added two clinching free throws, completing his seventh 30-point outing of the season that he complemented with nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
The Thunder standout shot 13-for-28, helping the visitors outshoot the Warriors 45.9 percent to 35.7 percent. Neither team did well from 3-point range, Golden State going 16-for-50 (32.0 percent) and Oklahoma City 11-for-37 (29.7 percent).
Isaiah Joe chipped in with 17 points and Williams 13 along with seven assists, six rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes before getting poked in the eye on a Kuminga drive to the hoop.
Draymond Green notched a double-double with 10 points, a team-high 13 rebounds, a game-high-tying seven assists and two blocks, while Hield had 17 points, Wiggins 16, Brandin Podziemski 12 to go with eight rebounds and five assists, and Kyle Anderson 10 points.
–Field Level Media