Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points, including a step-back 3-pointer in the closing seconds, to help the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 129-126 home win over the Denver Nuggets on Monday.
Moments earlier, it looked as if Gilgeous-Alexander sealed the Thunder’s victory with another step-back 3-pointer, but a four-point play tied it for the Nuggets.
Then Gilgeous-Alexander did it again, waiting for his moment before elevating over Spencer Jones and draining another big shot with 3.3 seconds left.
This time, the Nuggets didn’t have time to answer.
The dagger came on the same night that Gilgeous-Alexander tied Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA record with his 126th consecutive 20-point game. Gilgeous-Alexander added 15 assists and nine rebounds.
Jaylin Williams scored 29 points on a career-high seven 3-pointers and contributed 12 assists to help Oklahoma City win without big men Chet Holmgren (flu) and Isaiah Hartenstein (calf).
The last time the two teams met, Feb. 27 in Oklahoma City, the game was chippy from the outset and included an early technical foul on Gilgeous-Alexander for throwing the ball at Nikola Jokic and a late, hard foul from Oklahoma City’s Luguentz Dort on Jokic that led to Dort’s ejection and a brief scuffle that prompted two technical fouls.
The rematch was fairly calm, outside of plenty of lead changes, until late, when Dort was called for a flagrant foul following a review.
Jokic was setting a screen for Jamal Murray when Jokic and Dort collided.
The free throw and a Jokic 3-pointer on the ensuing possession helped the Nuggets close what had been an eight-point deficit with two minutes remaining to three with 1:05 left. Jokic cut the gap to one with a floater with 31.2 seconds to go.
Gilgeous-Alexander then delivered the first of his big late 3-pointers with 13.9 seconds left to put the Thunder up by four.
On the next possession, as Jokic elevated for a 3-pointer that swished through, Williams was called for a foul away from the ball, giving Denver a chance to tie the game. Murray sank the free throw with 8.5 seconds to go, making it 126-126.
After a timeout, Gilgeous-Alexander found himself in 1-on-1 coverage from Jones, and he hit the shot to put the game away.
Ajay Mitchell, playing for the first time since Jan. 21, added 24 points for Oklahoma City. He had been out due to abdominal and ankle injuries.
Jokic had 32 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, scoring 11 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t quite enough to keep Thunder from improving to 3-0 vs. the Nuggets this season.
Denver’s Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 28 off the bench while Aaron Gordon had 23 points and 10 rebounds. Gordon scored 19 points in the game’s first seven minutes.
