Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 36 points, nine assists and six rebounds to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 101-93 road win over the Los Angeles Lakers in an NBA Cup game Friday.
The Thunder improved to 2-1 in the West Group B while the Lakers, the defending NBA Cup champions, fell to 2-2.
Jalen Williams added 19 points, Luguentz Dort finished with 14 points and Isaiah Hartenstein added 11 points and a season-high 18 rebounds for the Thunder, who have won four in a row.
Rookie Dalton Knecht led Los Angeles with 20 points, D’Angelo Russell added 17 points off the bench, and Anthony Davis had 15 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks for the Lakers, who have lost four of five. LeBron James finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Austin Reeves chipped in 11 points in the loss.
Gilgeous-Alexander took over late, scoring 15 points in the final frame. He drained a 3-pointer with 1:35 left to put Oklahoma City up 95-91. Max Christie hit a turnaround jumper in the lane with 39.9 seconds left to cut the Lakers’ deficit to 95-93.
Gilgeous-Alexander answered with two free throws and then Williams stole the ball from Reaves on the inbounds and finished a fastbreak dunk to seal the win.
Oklahoma City, which shot 40.9 percent from the floor, scored 20 points off Los Angeles’ 17 turnovers.
The Thunder hit seven of their first nine shots to jump ahead 15-6 with 7:43 left in the first quarter and took a 32-24 lead into the second quarter.
Los Angeles scored the first seven points of the second quarter to cut its deficit to one. The Lakers eventually took a 46-45 lead on Davis’ shot inside with 1:12 left in the first half. Gilgeous-Alexander and Kenrich Williams hit back-to-back 3-pointers just before halftime to send Oklahoma City into the break with a 51-48 lead.
–Field Level Media