SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER scored 34 points to lead the Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder to a 125-96 home win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday in a battle of short-handed teams.
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Bucks were without Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis.
The Thunder were without Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso.
The absences took a bit of the shine off the rematch of December’s NBA Cup final, which Milwaukee won in Las Vegas.
But Oklahoma City has largely rolled through its schedule even with key players out, and they wasted no time jumping out to a big lead thanks to Gilgeous-Alexander.
In that Dec. 17 loss, which doesn’t count in the regular-season standings, Gilgeous-Alexander was just 8 of 24 from the field for 21 points — only three points more than his fewest total of the season.
On Monday, the Thunder star went 9 of 11 shooting in the first quarter to get 21 points. Oklahoma City jumped ahead by as much as 20 in the period.
By halftime, Gilgeous-Alexander had 30 as the Thunder’s lead ballooned to 34.
By late in the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander was on the bench, his night completed as Oklahoma City had the game well in hand. — Reuters
