Shai Gilgeous-Alexander propels Thunder past Mavs
DALLAS, TEXAS – MARCH 03: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder at American Airlines Center on March 03, 2021 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by RONALD MARTINEZ / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points on 11-for-22 shooting and added six assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 116-108 victory over the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander registered his second consecutive 30-point game and his eighth of the season.
Al Horford scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help the Thunder begin their second-half schedule with a second consecutive victory.
Dallas had its four-game winning streak snapped, but played without Luka Doncic (right ankle) and Kristaps Porzingis (right knee) as both rested on the second night of back-to-back games.
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Josh Richardson led the Mavericks with 27 points and six assists while Jalen Brunson, who made his eighth start of the season, finished with 26 points, four rebounds and three assists.
The Thunder took advantage of the short-handed Mavericks quickly, grabbing the lead for good with 8:51 left of a first quarter in which they wound up outscoring Dallas 35-19. Oklahoma City outrebounded Dallas 21-5 in that quarter and 55-37 for the game while also finishing with a marked edge in points in the paint (50-34).
The Mavericks used a 21-4 run to pull within two points with 1:58 to go in the fourth quarter.
Gilgeous-Alexander answered with back-to-back scores to extend the lead to 107-101. Oklahoma City’s Aleksej Pokusevski (14 points, eight rebounds) came up with two key blocks down the stretch and hit a clutch 3-pointer with 53.7 seconds left.
Luguentz Dort also scored 14 points for the Thunder, and rookie Theo Maledon had 11 points and nine assists.
Oklahoma City’s bench also came up big as Moses Brown totaled eight points and 12 rebounds while Isaiah Roby had nine points and six rebounds.
Tim Hardaway Jr. had 24 points and six rebounds off Dallas’ bench, and Maxi Kleber added 14 points.
George Hill (right thumb), Hamidou Diallo (right groin), Darius Bazley (left shoulder) and Josh Hall (left knee) were out for the Thunder.
–Field Level Media
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