During the Wednesday night NBA slate, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 133-96 win over the Houston Rockets.
Gilgeous-Alexander made 8 of 16 field goals and 13 of 15 free throws. Due to Oklahoma City’s 116-78 lead entering the fourth quarter, the first-time All-Star only played three quarters. The team was able to focus thanks to coach Mark Daigneault, said Thunder guard Josh Giddey.
“Guys know the break’s coming up and it’s easy to look past it and kind of brush this game off and just get through it and head into the break,” Giddey said. “But coach really emphasized running the finish line. I think we did a really good job of that tonight.”
After finishing last season 24-58, the Thunder enter the NBA All-Star break with a 28-29 record. In the second half of the season, they should be able to compete for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
“We’re aware of the race for the play-in and the playoff spots. … Every game we can get, we need,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
The Thunder recorded their biggest victory margin of the season with 15 points from Lu Dort, 13 points from Jalen Williams, and 16 rebounds from Jaylin Williams.
“We didn’t settle tonight,” Daigneault said. “Transition, we got out and ran. Offensively, we hit the paint. We got to the line a ton. We got to the rim and we sprayed the ball for open shots. I thought we made the right play the majority of the night. So credit to the guys who played together on that end.”
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder & Houston Rockets Updates
It was the Rockets’ seventh straight loss, and they entered the break with the worst record in the league, thanks to Jabari Smith Jr.’s 15 points and Jalen Green’s 14 points.
“I’m going to take some time over the break and not think about it for a little while,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “But then I am going to take a good amount of the break and really kind of figure out what the next 20, however many games looks like. And maybe there’ll be some some different things, different rotations, different schemes at times.”
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder & Houston Rockets Updates
A first-half 16-point performance by Gilgeous-Alexander helped Oklahoma City lead 76-54. In the third quarter, the Thunder outscored the Rockets 40-24 to seal the victory. A total of 13 points were scored in the period by Gilgeous-Alexander.
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