Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points and 12 assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 116-102 win over the visiting Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
The Thunder have won six in a row, their longest winning streak since 2018-19. The Bulls have lost five of their last six.
Oklahoma City swept the season series.
Gilgeous-Alexander was 17 of 18 from the free-throw line. Isaiah Joe added 20 points off the bench, going 5 of 7 from beyond the arc and rookie Chet Holmgren had 18 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks.
After scoring just 39 points in the first half and trailing by as many as 18, the Bulls scored 38 points in the third quarter to make a push.
DeMar DeRozan powered Chicago’s offense in the quarter, scoring 12 points, including all eight of his free throws, and registering three assists.
Six of DeRozan’s free throws came as he scored 10 points in a 22-5 Bulls run to knot the score at 67-67, the first tie of the game.
But the Thunder got back-to-back 3-pointers from Joe and Kenrich Williams — both assisted by Gilgeous-Alexander — to put Oklahoma City back on top.
This time, though, the Bulls kept it tight.
Chicago, which made all 17 of its free throws, was within three with less than five minutes remaining before Oklahoma City stretched it back out to double figures over the next three minutes.
The Thunder got off to a quick start, leading by as many as 12 points in the first quarter as the Bulls started slow yet again.
The Bulls were just 4 of 23 from the field and 2 of 11 on 3-pointers in the first quarter.
Chicago leading scorer Zach LaVine missed the game with right foot soreness.
DeRozan led the Bulls with 25 points, while Coby White added 23 and Nikola Vucevic chipped in 16 points and 12 rebounds.
–Field Level Media
