ubet63 NBA: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder overwhelm Nets

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives against Brooklyn Nets guard Keon Johnson (45) and center Nic Claxton during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 27 points and 10 assists in three quarters, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Brooklyn Nets 127-101 on Sunday night.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s leading scorer, sat out Friday’s loss at Dallas with a sprained right wrist. He looked fine against the Nets — he made 8 of 14 field goals and all 10 of his free throw attempts. He also had four steals.

Article continues after this advertisement

Isaiah Joe scored 24 points and made eight 3-pointers for the Thunder.

play now house of funFEATURED STORIES SPORTS Djokovic gets his apologies, focuses on Alcaraz at Australian Open SPORTS FiberXers in front of race for twice-to-beat bonus in first round of playoffs SPORTS Iga Swiatek doping ruling will not be appealed by WADA READ: NBA: Thunder’s Chet Holmgren out for at least three more weeks

Shai was effective in ALL phases in a big win for the Thunder!

⚡️ 27 PTS⚡️ 10 AST⚡️ 4 STL pic.twitter.com/BoQGODNM1H

— NBA (@NBA) January 20, 2025

The Thunder have the best record in the Western Conference, and the victory clinched Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault’s spot as an All-Star head coach. He will coach one of the four All-Star teams and an assistant coach from his staff will be the head coach for another team.

Article continues after this advertisement

Cam Johnson and Tyrese Johnson each scored 15 points for the Nets, who have lost eight of nine.

The measures are the latest in a raft of pledges out of Beijing since last week aimed at kickstarting the world’s number-two economy.

Since then, the 39-year-old says the prices he gets from purchasers have fallen by half and he’s had to scale back to four workers and about one-third of the ponds, some months not even breaking even. His wife has had to take a job at a watermelon farm to help support their two children.

Article continues after this advertisement

Oklahoma City made 9 of 13 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a 39-19 lead. The Thunder continued to roll in the second quarter and led 69-49 at halftime. Gilgeous-Alexander and Joe each had 15 points at the break.

Article continues after this advertisement

Oklahoma City continued to dominate in the second half, expanding its lead to 29 points in the closing minutes.

Takeaways

Nets: Brooklyn shot just 42.5% against the Thunder, who lead the league in defensive rating.

Article continues after this advertisement

Thunder: Daigneault, last season’s NBA Coach of the Year, might be doing a better job this year. He once again found a way to manage an injury-riddled roster and not miss a beat. Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City’s No. 2 scorer for the season, sat out this game with a strained right hip and center Isaiah Hartenstein was out with a strained left calf.

READ: NBA: Doncic-less Mavericks beat Thunder without Gilgeous-Alexander Key moment

Ousmane Dieng’s one-handed jam on a fast break put Oklahoma City ahead 32-7 in the first quarter. It was the highlight of an 18-0 run.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

SIGN ME UP

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

Key stat

Oklahoma City shot 61.9% from the field and 61.1% from 3-point range (11 of 18) in the first half.

Up next

Nets host the New York Knicks on Tuesdayubet63, and Thunder host Utah on Wednesday.

READ NEXT Iga Swiatek doping ruling will not be appealed by WADA Australian Open: Iga Swiatek crushes Eva Lys to reach quarters EDITORS' PICK Pacquiao Int’l Hall of Fame awaits, supports Senate, 1-Pacman return to Congress Chavit Singson retires after withdrawing Senate bid for health reasons DBM clears up budget confusion, confirms signed GAA is complete Chinese engineer, 2 Filipinos nabbed for espionage targeting PH security Sandigan finds former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista guilty of graft Gordon Ramsay wowed by Judy Ann Santos, Abi Marquez’s cooking skills MOST READ Sandigan finds former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista guilty of graft CIDG chief Torre to file cyber libel raps vs Jay Sonza, vlogger Ruffa Gutierrez mum on Herbert Bautista’s case; shows support for ‘Incognito’ Chinese engineer, 2 Filipinos nabbed for espionage targeting PH security Follow @FMangosingINQ on Twitter --> View comments