Gilgeous-Alexander scores 40 as Thunder top Suns 124-120
By Cliff Brunt, The Associated Press on March 19, 2023.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns 124-120 on Sunday. Fellow Canadian Luguentz Dort added 20 points for the Thunder, who have won four of five as they try to earn at least a play-in spot. Oklahoma City has missed the playoffs the past two years. Devin Booker scored 46 points and Chris Paul added 14 points and 13 assists for the Suns. Phoenix led 69-57 at halftime behind 16 points from Booker. The Suns shot 52.2% from the field before the break. Gilgeous-Alexander, a Hamilton, Ont., native, had 21 points in the first half to keep the Thunder in it. Gilgeous-Alexander stole the ball in the closing seconds of the third quarter and scored a layup while being fouled with 0.4 seconds remaining. He made the free throw to cut Phoenix’s lead to 96-90 at the end of the period. Phoenix went up 100-90 before the Thunder went on an 18-2 run. Oklahoma City tied the game at 100 on a layup by Aaron Wiggins with a little over seven minutes remaining. Oklahoma City took a 103-102 lead about 40 seconds later on a 3-pointer by Dort, a Montreal native, and the Thunder pushed the lead out to 108-102 before Phoenix called timeout. The Thunder held off a late surge in the final minute. TIP-INS Suns: F Kevin Durant remained out with a sprained left ankle. … C Deandre Ayton sat out with a bruised right hip. … C Bismack Biyombo was issued a technical foul in the first quarter. Thunder: C Dario Saric scored four points against the Suns, the team he was traded from earlier this season. Suns F Darius Bazley, who moved from Oklahoma City in the Saric deal, scored three points in seven minutes. He was cheered when he entered the game as a reserve in the second quarter. … G Josh Giddey was given a technical in the second quarter. UP NEXT Suns: Visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. Thunder: Visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday. ___ Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: twitter.com/CliffBruntAP ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports 18-17
