By ASSOCIATED PRESS
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points after a slow start and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Miami Heat, 124-112, on Sunday night, Jan. 11.
Jalen Williams had 19 points for Oklahoma City, and Chet Holmgren and Ajay Mitchell each added 16. The Thunder have won three straight.
Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points — including seven 3-pointers – to lead Miami, which has lost three straight. Tyler Herro had 19 points and Pelle Larsson added 16.
Gilgeous-Alexander missed his first five shots of the game, but then went 10 for 14 from the field the rest of the way to top the 20-point mark for the 110th consecutive game.
With about four minutes remaining in the third, Gilgeous-Alexander — who had 16 points in the quarter — made a 3-pointer and pumped his fist while he walked back toward the other end as Miami called a timeout. It was part of a 15-0 run that gave the Thunder a 13-point lead.
Both teams came in among the top four in the NBA in defensive rating, and while Oklahoma City and Miami both shot better than 50%, the defenses left their mark.
The Thunder scored 39 points off 23 Heat turnovers.
Miami forced five Oklahoma City turnovers in the opening quarter but the Thunder had just eight turnovers the rest of the way.
Miami led by as many as nine in the first quarter, but the Thunder used a 14-2 run late in the quarter to regain the lead before the Heat scored five consecutive points in the final 4 seconds of the quarter, ending the period on Wiggins’ steal and corner 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Norman Powell missed the game for the Heat with lower back soreness.
Jaylin Williams, who hadn’t played since Dec. 13 with heel bursitis, scired nine points in his return for Oklahoma City.
Meanwhile, Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 24 points, Jalen Johnson contributed 23 points, 11 rebounds and six assists and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Golden State Warriors, 124-111.
Luke Kennard had a season-best 22 points and six 3-pointers off the bench in the Hawks’ third straight win.
Stephen Curry scored 31 for his 13th 30-point performance of the season and Jimmy Butler had 30 points, seven rebounds and six assists in his fourth 30-point outing as the Warriors had a three-game home winning streak snapped. They had one other game both scoring 30 or more points and the Warriors also lost that one at Orlando on Nov. 18.
Butler had 17 points, five assists and four rebounds by halftime, when the Warriors were just 5 for 19 from 3-point range. It marked the third time in his last four games scoring 20 or more points.
Alexander-Walker scored eight straight points over the final 1:14 of the first half including back-to-back 3-pointers in the closing minute as Atlanta led 59-53 at the break, also getting CJ McCollum’s jumper to beat the halftime buzzer.
After Dyson Daniels’ layup at the 8:47 mark of the third put Atlanta ahead 70-58, Golden State went on a 10-0 burst but couldn’t keep the momentum.
Warriors forward Draymond Green had made a 3-pointer in two consecutive games — but has never done so in three in a row.
Golden State made 5 of 6 shots to start the game and go ahead 14-4 — seven of those by Curry.
Curry and father Dell have now scored the second-most points by a father-son duo in NBA history, passing Joe and Kobe Bryant’s 38,895. LeBron James and Bronny are first with 42,692.
