Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 43 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 128-120 on Wednesday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander made 15 of 22 field goals and 12 of 13 free throws. He fell one point short of his career high and scored at least 40 for the eighth time. He also had seven rebounds and six assists.
Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren each added 15 points for the Thunder, who improved to 5-3 on the season.
Caris LeVert scored 29 points and Evan Mobley had 22 for the Cavaliers.
Donovan Mitchell, who became the NBA’s leading scorer at 32.5 points per game, was held to 20 on 8 of 23 shooting. He scored 43 points in the first meeting between the teams, a 108- 105 for the Thunder on October 27 in Cleveland.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting in the first half to help the Thunder take a 70-57 lead. He accumulated these points without attempting to score 3 points. Oklahoma City shot 55.3 percent from the field and made all 12 of its free throw attempts in the first two quarters. Cleveland shot 53.8 percent from the field but made just 10 of 19 free throws in the first half.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 15 points in the third quarter to give the Thunder a 99-87 lead. He took a break to start the fourth and returned to the game with Oklahoma City leading 105-100.
Other players managed the Thunder’s scoring until Gilgeous-Alexander hit a 3 from the top of the key to give Oklahoma City a 117-108 lead with about four minutes remaining. It was his first 3-pointer of the game and just his second attempt.
FOLLOWING
Cavaliers: Visit the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
Thunder: Visit the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
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