SGA drops 39 on Hawks; Cavs trim Spurs on the road
OKLAHOMA CITY—Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 39 points, and the Thunder used a big third quarter to beat the skidding Atlanta Hawks, 140-129, on Monday night, even as Jarrett Allen had 27 points and 10 rebounds in a Cleveland win in San Antonio.
Chet Holmgren had 24 points, nine rebounds and three blocks and Jalen Williams added 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the NBA-leading Thunder (28-5).
Gilgeous-Alexander scored the Thunder’s first eight points. He was 15-for-24 in field goals and made all seven of his foul shots. He scored at least 20 points for the 104th consecutive game.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 30 points and Onyeka Okongwu had 26 points and 14 rebounds for Atlanta (15-19), which has lost seven straight. The short-handed Hawks played without starters Trae Young (quad), Jalen Johnson (illness) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness).
A barrage of attempts
The teams combined to shoot 86 three-pointers. The Hawks were 25-of-54 (46.3 percent), while the Thunder made 12-of-32 (37.5 percent). Oklahoma City scored 70 points in the paint compared to 36 for Atlanta.
In San Antonio, Allen led the way for the Cavaliers in holding on to beat Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, 113-101.
Cleveland had seven players score in double figures. Evan Mobley scored 16 points and Darius Garland added 15 points and 11 assists.
Wembanyama had 26 points and 14 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season for the Spurs, who have lost two straight after winning eight consecutive games.
Stephon Castle scored 15 points for the Spurs and De’Aaron Fox added 14 points after a one-game absence due to tightness in his left adductor.
Both teams were coming off disappointing losses on Saturday, but the Cavaliers responded by snapping a two-game skid.
San Antonio had an eight-game winning streak ended in a 127-114 loss to Utah. Cleveland fell behind by 37 points on the way to a 117-100 loss to Houston.
In Miami, Denver star Nikola Jokic was having another brilliant game: 21 points, eight assists and five rebounds in the first half, with behind-the-back passes to set up scores and generally doing whatever he wanted.
Then came one misstep from a teammate with about three seconds left until halftime—and now, the Nuggets wait to see how bad the news might be.
Jokic limped off the court after appearing to hurt his left knee just before the intermission and going to the floor in obvious pain. He was not on the floor for the second half and the results of a magnetic resonance imaging will determine what happens in the coming days and weeks.
