Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores career-high 54 in Thunder’s 123-114 win over Jazz
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 54 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Utah Jazz 123-114 on Wednesday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander made 17 of 35 field goals and 17 of 18 free throws to surpass his previous career best of 45 points. He also had eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Jalen Williams added 25 points for the Thunder (36-7), who are tied with Cleveland for the league’s best record.
John Collins had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Collin Sexton had 18 points and nine assists, and Walker Kessler had 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost their fourth straight.
Utah (10-32), the worst team in the Western Conference, hung tough throughout.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points in the first half to help Oklahoma City take a 57-55 lead at the break. He scored 18 points in the third quarter as the Thunder took a 95-89 lead.
Gilgeous-Alexander took a break to start the final quarter, and the Thunder led 102-99 when he checked back in. He hit a 3-pointer that gave the Thunder a 115-106 lead and secured his career night.
Takeaways
Jazz: Utah did a lot of things right, including scoring 31 second-chance points off 23 offensive rebounds. The Jazz simply ran into one of the best players and teams in the league.
Thunder: Oklahoma City still was missing injured center Isaiah Hartenstein, and Utah took advantage by winning the rebounding battle 52-39. The Thunder’s lack of size helped the Jazz keep it close.
Key moment
Gilgeous-Alexander scored his 50th point on a pullup jumper over Lauri Markkanen with 1:28 to go that gave the Thunder a 119-110 lead.
Key stat
Oklahoma City overcame its lack of size by scoring 39 points off Utah’s 27 turnovers.
Up next
The Jazz visit Memphis on Saturday. The Thunder host Dallas on Thursday.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
By CLIFF BRUNT
AP Sports Writer
