Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 144-112 win over the Utah Jazz on the road Friday in NBA Cup play.
The Thunder extended their winning streak to eight and have won 16 of their first 17.
The Jazz led big early but couldn’t withstand Oklahoma City’s defense as the game wore on to drop their second consecutive game and fall to 0-3 in NBA Cup action.
The Thunder improved to 2-0 in the tournament.
Oklahoma City trailed by 18 early but virtually erased that deficit by halftime, and then took over in the third to run away.
Utah turned the ball over 10 times in the third, including four by Isaiah Collier, and the Thunder turned those turnovers into 20 points. Oklahoma City outscored the Jazz 43-20 in the quarter.
While the Thunder’s defense set the tone, the offense also came through in a big way.
Oklahoma City shot a season-best 61.4 percent from the floor and hit a season-high 23 3-pointers.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who started the season struggling from beyond the 3-point line, hit all three of his shots from beyond the arc. He also added eight assists.
Seven other Thunder players scored in double figures, including 16 off the bench for Isaiah Joe and 15 from Jaylin Williams.
The Jazz were led by 20 points from Keyonte George and Kyle Filipowski scored a season-high 18.
Lauri Markkanen, who came into the game averaging more than 30 points per game, finished with 19 — his second-lowest scoring game of the season.
Utah was dominant early, jumping out to a 39-21 lead just more than nine minutes into the game.
The Jazz hit 13 of their first 18 shots, including three 3-pointers from Kevin Love in less than two minutes.
But Oklahoma City steadily climbed back, tying it on Cason Wallace’s 3-pointer with just more than a minute remaining in the half.
Utah led 68-67 at the break.
But for the second consecutive game, Luguentz Dort got hot offensively in the second half to help the Thunder recover with the game in question.
Dort hit a pair of 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give Oklahoma City its first lead just more than two minutes into the third.
Oklahoma City has won five games this season after trailing by 10 or more points.
–Field Level Media
