NEW YORK — Chris Paul scored 28 points and hit two clutch shots in overtime as the surging Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the slumping Brooklyn Nets 111-103 Tuesday night in New York in the second night of a back-to-back for both teams.
The Thunder won for the 10th time in their last 12 games and rebounded nicely from Monday’s loss in Philadelphia thanks to Paul’s dynamic performance.
Paul came within two of his season-high for points and shot 9 of 15 from the floor, including four of eight from 3-point range.
He snapped a 103-103 deadlock with a baseline 10-footer over Jarrett Allen with 3:36 remaining and then hit a 13-footer about a minute later for a 107-103 edge.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 22 points and hit four free throws in the final minute to ice Oklahoma City’s win and send Brooklyn to its seventh consecutive loss.
Dennis Schroder added 14 points, while Steven Adams posted a double-double with 10 points and 18 rebounds as the Thunder shot 41.3% from the field.
Taurean Prince scored 21 points to lead the Nets, who missed seven of eight shots in overtime, shot 40.8% overall and are on their longest skid since dropping eight straight from Nov. 21–Dec. 5, 2018.
Caris LeVert added 18 of his 20 in the second half but did not play in overtime due to a minutes restriction. Spencer Dinwiddie was held to 14 points on 6-of-21 shooting
The Nets held a 94-89 lead on Dinwiddie’s reverse layup with 4:27 remaining, but Oklahoma City stormed back and tied the game in the final minute of regulation.
Paul forged a 101-101 deadlock with 47.4 seconds left when he went around a screen by Adams and hit a jumper from the right side of the paint before Allen could cover. After LeVert badly missed a contested short jumper, Paul had a chance to give the Thunder the lead, but he committed a turnover in the lane when the ball went off his right leg with 11.7 seconds left.
The Nets missed two chances at the win when Dinwiddie missed a free throw with 11.7 seconds left after Oklahoma City committed a foul before the ball was inbounded. Dinwiddie then missed a contested floater against Adams with seventh-tenths of a second left. — Reuters
