OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, Josh Giddey had a triple-double and the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled past the Portland Trail Blazers 139-77 on Thursday night, a 62-point victory that matched the fifth-largest rout in NBA history.
Oklahoma City shattered its previous record for victory margin of 45 points, set twice during the 2012-13 season. The Thunder moved into a tie with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the best record in the Western Conference at 26-11.
The Thunder were on the wrong end of the NBA’s biggest blowout, losing by 73 to Memphis on Dec. 2, 2021. It was the Trail Blazers’ second-worst loss, having fallen by 65 to Indiana on Feb. 27, 1998.
Jalen Williams scored 21 points, Chet Holmgren added 19 and Giddey had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for his ninth career triple-double as the Thunder shot 57% from the field. It was a complete victory for an Oklahoma City team that returned from Wednesday night’s win at Miami at 3 a.m. on Thursday morning.
BUCKS 135, CELTICS 102
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Bobby Portis and Giannis Antetokounmpo combined to score 20 straight points during a 25-0 spurt midway through the first half and Milwaukee rolled over NBA-leading Boston.
Portis scored 28, Antetokounmpo added 24 and both players had 12 rebounds to help the Bucks win for just the second time in six games. Damian Lillard chipped in 21 points while returning to Milwaukee’s lineup after missing the Bucks’ 132-116 home loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday for personal reasons.
The Bucks led by as many as 43 points in Jrue Holiday’s return to Milwaukee, and their 75-38 lead at the break was their fourth-biggest halftime advantage in franchise history. The Bucks hadn’t played a game since Monday, while the Celtics were back in action one night after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-120 in overtime.
Boston allowed its highest point total of the season and rested all its starters for the entire second half. The Bucks didn’t play any of their starters in the fourth quarter.
CAVALIERS 111, NETS 102
PARIS (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored a season-high 45 points and Cleveland beat Brooklyn in the NBA’s third regular-season game in Paris.
Mitchell’s quick start sent the Cavaliers to a lead they would never lose and he scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, making four 3-pointers after going 0 for 6 through three, to keep the Nets from coming all the way back after cutting a 26-point deficit to single digits.
Caris LeVert added 21 points in Cleveland’s first time playing outside North America in the regular season, while and Jarrett Allen had 12 points and 12 rebounds in his career-best eighth straight double-double. The Cavaliers won their fourth straight, improving to 9-3 since Dec. 16.
Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas each scored 26 points for the Nets, who matched their worst half of the season with 34 points in the first half and have lost 12 of 15. Lonnie Walker IV added 20 points.
SUNS 127, LAKERS 109
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bradley Beal had a season-high 37 points, including eight 3-pointers, Devin Booker added 31 and Phoenix routed Los Angeles.
Kevin Durant added 18 points for the Suns, who broke a five-game losing streak to the Lakers. It was also Frank Vogel’s first victory over his former team. Vogel coached the Lakers for three seasons, including 2020 when they won the NBA title in the Walt Disney World bubble.
D’Angelo Russell had 19 points off the bench as the Lakers fell to 5-11 since winning the NBA In-Season Tournament last month. Los Angeles had seven players score in double figures but committed 17 turnovers that led to 28 Phoenix points.
Beal scored 20 points in the third quarter and the Suns’ largest lead was 32 early in the fourth. He was one off tying the Suns’ single-game record for 3-pointers shared by six players.
LeBron James had 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting along with nine assists and five rebounds. Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves scored 13 points apiece. All three players did not see action during the fourth quarter as the Lakers trailed by 27 after three.
MAVERICKS 128, KNICKS 124
DALLAS (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 44 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 32 in his fifth start of the season and short-handed Dallas, playing without superstar Luka Doncic and two other starters, held off a late charge to beat New York.
After Irving had 20 in the third quarter, the Mavericks led 115-96 with 7:19 left in the game before the Knicks pulled within 121-120 with 1:08 to go on Donte DiVicenzo’s 3-pointer.
Josh Green hit a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left for the last of his 18 points following three Dallas offensive rebounds for a 124-120 lead. Irving and Hardaway combined to sink four free throws in the final 11.1 seconds left to seal the win.
Dallas native Julius Randle led the Knicks with 32 points. Jalen Brunson, playing in Dallas for the first time since leaving the Mavericks in free agency in July 2022, scored 30. DiVincenzo had 19, but the Knicks lost for the first time in six games since acquiring OG Anunoby from Toronto on Dec. 30.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
The Associated Press
