Shai Gilgeous-Alexander marked his return from injury with 36 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 127-121 in overtime.
The reigning NBA Most Valuable Player had been out of action since suffering an abdominal strain on Feb. 3 and missing nine games.
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He played 34 minutes in his return, but remained on the bench in overtime as Alex Caruso guided the Thunder to their sixth victory in their last eight games.
āI felt good,ā Gilgeous-Alexander said. āIām just grateful to be back.ā
The 27-year-old was in the action early, opening his account with a layup before being called for an early technical foul for throwing the ball at Denver’s Nikola Jokic who made contact with him after play was stopped.
Thunder forward Luguentz Dort was then ejected for a flagrant foul after tripping Jokic, sparking a shoving match that saw Jokic and Oklahoma City’s Jaylin Williams receive technical fouls.
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Caruso drove to the basket in the final seconds of regulation, but his shot bounced off the rim at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
However, the Thunder scored the first five points in overtime and held on for the win to maintain their two-game lead over the San Antonio Spurs atop the Western Conference.
