Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 48 points and the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the host Detroit Pistons 113-107 on Saturday.
Cason Wallace had 20 points and Isaiah Hartenstein added 12 with 10 rebounds for the Thunder (55-12), who have won nine of their last 10.
Detroit All-Star Cade Cunningham was ejected late in the third quarter for arguing with the officials. He finished with 11 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. The Pistons were assessed a total of five technicals in the quarter.
Tobias Harris led the Pistons (37-31) with 18 points, while Dennis Schroder supplied 17 points and 11 assists.
The Thunder played without two starters. Forward Jalen Williams missed the game due to a hip strain, while big man Chet Holmgren was rested.
Oklahoma City built an 11-point lead in the first seven minutes. The Pistons nearly erased it before the quarter ended, going on an 11-1 run.
Malik Beasley gave Detroit the lead at 26-24 early in the second quarter with a 3-pointer. The Pistons soon built the advantage to 36-26.
That was the Pistons’ largest lead of the half. The Thunder gradually cut into it and Gilgeous-Alexander’s jumper tied it with 2:14 remaining in the quarter. His three-point play with 1:38 left put Oklahoma City on top 53-52.
The Thunder led 55-54 at the break behind Gilgeous-Alexander’s 20 points. He scored the first points of the second half on a 3-point shot, and his jumper with 8:11 left in the quarter gave Oklahoma City a 10-point advantage.
After Detroit cut the deficit in half, the Thunder had a 6-0 spurt for a 77-66 advantage. Gilgeous-Alexander made three free throws after the technicals to Cunningham and another to Schroder with 47 seconds left in the quarter. The Thunder had a 91-77 lead when the quarter ended.
The Pistons went on an 8-0 run early in the fourth to pull within six. When Beasley buried a 3-pointer with 4:16 remaining, Oklahoma City’s lead was down to one.
Gilgeous-Alexander answered with a 3-pointer. A couple more baskets by the Thunder star made it 106-100. After a Pistons basket, he set up Wallace for a 3-pointer.
–Field Level Media
When the NCAA Selection Committee members filled out the West Region bracket, they must have been looking ahead to potential coaching matchups in the second round. How else to explain…
South Carolina has found extra incentive going into the NCAA Women’s Tournament. Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said she felt slighted by the selection committee’s decision to give South Carolina (30-3)…
The last time a freshman was the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament was 2015, when point guard Tyus Jones piloted Duke to its fifth national championship. Jones —…
Can South Carolina repeat in NCAA Women’s Tournament?
10 players primed to become household names in NCAA Tournament
South Region: Despite recent struggles, Auburn is No. 1 overall for a reason
SMU, Dayton among top seeds in NIT as teams decline bids
Field Level Media - Professional sports content solutions | FLM
