Giddey, Gilgeous-Alexander lead Thunder over Nets 112-102
NEW YORK (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey each scored 28 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 112-102 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.
Lu Dort scored 22 points for Thunder. They won a string of wins to end a road trip in the East. Their record is now 21-23.
Brooklyn lost its second straight game after Kevin Durant was injured in a knee ligament injury. Seth Curry scored 23 points, while Nic Claxton had a team record 12th double-double with 17 points & 12 rebounds.
Claxton also had four block, which extended his streak of games with at minimum three to eight. Shawn Bradley holds the franchise record with 11, having done it twice during the 1995-96 season.
Kyrie Irving finished with 15 points and Royce O’Neale added 11.
As the Nets held a 10 point lead, the first matchup of regular-season matches was a tight affair. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Nets had a lead of 80-75.
It didn’t last very long.
Oklahoma City took a 45-36 lead in the fourth quarter with a 15-6 surge. Giddy scored nine points to spearhead the Thunder’s push.
For a stretch, the teams traded 3-pointers. Isiah Joseph’s second pushes the Thunder’s lead to 99-92. After Gilgeous-Alexander’s basket at 3:05, it was 105-94.
TIP-INS
Thunder: Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault has noticed rookie Jalen Williams. According to the Thunder coach, Daigneault and the organizational decision-makers heard about the guard’s performance at the NBA Draft Combination. “(What stood) out to me was at the combine, a lot of players don’t play,” Daigneault said. “Even guys (who) feel like they’re solid second-round picks won’t play at the combine. He played well in the first day at the combine. …And he played the second day, and he played better the second day.” Williams, the 12th pick in the draft, is averaging 11.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 39 games this season.
Nets: Jacque Varn, coach of the Nets stated that Durant will not be joining the team for the five-game road trip. Durant suffered an isolated sprain of the right MCL in the third quarter of the Nets’ 102-101 win over the Heat in Miami on Jan. 8. The next day the team released a statement saying Durant would be “reevaluated in two weeks.” … Brooklyn recalled F Kessler Edwards and C Day’Ron Sharpe from Long Island of the G League prior to the game.
UP NEXT
Thunder: Indiana Hosts Wednesday
Nets: San Antonio visits on Tuesday
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