Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 51 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 137-128 home win over the Houston Rockets on Monday.
It was Gilgeous-Alexander’s fourth game with 50 or more points this season and ninth game with 40 or more points — both tops in the NBA. He had never produced a 50-point game in his career before January.
Gilgeous-Alexander shot 18 of 30 from the floor and 5 of 9 on 3-point attempts while adding seven assists and five rebounds.
Oklahoma City has won four consecutive games and 13 of its past 15.
The Thunder registered their 50th win of the season before any other team in the conference hit 40 wins. Oklahoma City is the first team to accomplish that feat since the 2004-05 Miami Heat.
The Rockets have dropped back-to-back games.
The Thunder got a scare in the fourth quarter when Jalen Williams, who scored a career-high 41 in a win at San Antonio on Sunday, fell down hard and appeared to injure his wrist.
Williams remained in the game briefly before exiting and going to the locker room, but he returned shortly thereafter. Williams finished with 24 points while teammate Chet Holmgren produced 11 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
The Rockets were without Dillon Brooks, Tari Eason, Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson and Fred VanVleet — all of whom played in a Saturday loss to the Sacramento Kings.
Cam Whitmore led Houston with 27 points, matching his career high, while rookie Reed Sheppard added a career-best 25.
The third quarter has often been the Thunder’s springboard this season, and it was again against the Rockets, as Oklahoma City outscored Houston 39-27 in the third to grab control.
The Thunder went on a 26-7 run to lead by 17 late in the third with Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 12 with three assists during the stretch.
Houston didn’t go away quietly, though, pulling as close as six early in the fourth on two Whitmore free throws before the Thunder pulled away again.
Gilgeous-Alexander got out to a blistering start, scoring 20 of Oklahoma City’s 30 first-quarter points.
However, the Thunder needed all of them, as the short-handed Rockets surged to an eight-point lead late in the period before Gilgeous-Alexander scored seven points in the final 67 seconds of the quarter to pull Oklahoma City within one.
–Field Level Media
