Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Wizards 132-111 on Saturday to stretch their winning streak to 11 and Washington’s skid to 15.
Just before halftime, the Wizards’ Justin Champagnie and the Thunder’s Jaylin WIlliams got into a scuffle that led to their ejections along with Williams’ teammates, Ajay Mitchell and Cason Wallace.
The scuffle moved behind the basket, with the teams’ coaching staffs and security coming over to help break up the brawl.
Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Jared McCain scored 18 off the bench.
Isaiah Hartenstein continued to make a significant impact early, with six rebounds and two assists before scoring his first points since March 1 to put the Thunder up by nine just four minutes in.
Hartenstein finished with nine points, a career-high-tying 20 rebounds and 10 assists, nearly missing out on his second career triple-double.
Though the Wizards (16-54) had been struggling and the Thunder (56-15) soaring, it wasn’t until a late third-quarter burst that Oklahoma City gained control for good.
After Will Riley’s three-point play with less than two minutes remaining tied it, Gilgeous-Alexander took over.
He scored seven points and had an assist in a 10-3 Thunder run to end the quarter. His first and last shots during that sequence were his most impressive.
After Riley tied it, the reigning MVP drove to the basket and got knocked off balance, flipping the ball underhand as he fell for a basket as he fell to the floor.
Then, with time winding down, Gilgeous-Alexander hit a step-back, 27-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to keep the momentum heading Oklahoma City’s way.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points in the third, going 7 for 12 from the floor with three assists. He finished 17 of 27 with seven assists.
It was Gilgeous-Alexander’s seventh 40-plus-point game of the season.
The Thunder scored the first 15 points of the final quarter to put the game away.
Washington didn’t score for nearly six minutes in the fourth, missing its first 10 shots.
Oklahoma City outscored Washington 64-40 in the paint.
Bilal Coulibaly led six Washington players in double figures with 21 points while Bub Carrington added 19.
–Field Level Media
