OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points and 11 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away from the Boston Celtics 105-92 on Sunday for their franchise-record 15th straight win.
The Thunder, who improved to 30-5, have not lost a game that counted in the standings since Dec. 1. Their loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup final does not count on the team’s record.
Jayson Tatum had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the defending NBA champion Celtics. Jaylen Brown scored 21 points, but went scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting in the second half.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored nine points in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the game to help the Thunder take an early lead, but Boston rallied and led 65-55 at halftime.
The Thunder trimmed the deficit to 80-76 at the end of the third quarter and regained the lead, 81-80, on a pair of free throws by Jalen Williams early in the fourth.
The Thunder remained in control, and back-to-back 3s by Lu Dort put the Thunder up 100-88 with just under two minutes to play. Dort scored 11 points and made all three of his shots from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter.
PELICANS 110, WIZARDS 98
WASHINGTON (AP) — CJ McCollum scored 25 points and Dejounte Murray had a triple-double to help New Orleans to a second straight victory over Washington.
Murray had 14 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his 20th career triple-double. Trey Murphy III added 22 points for the Pelicans.
New Orleans (7-29) swept a home-and-home set with the Wizards (6-27) and moved past them in the standings in this matchup of the NBA’s bottom two teams. The Pelicans had dropped 11 in a row before winning these two games.
McCollum, who scored 50 points against Washington on Friday night, had an efficient game two nights later, going 9 of 18 from the field and 6 of 11 from 3-point range.
Kyle Kuzma led Washington with 28 points
CAVALIERS 115, HORNETS 105
CLEVELAND (AP) — Darius Garland scored 25 points, Jarrett Allen had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and NBA-leading Cleveland beat Charlotte to extend their winning streak to 10.
Donovan Mitchell had 17 of his 19 points in the second half and Evan Mobley added 17 for Cleveland, which won for the 18th time in 19 home games and is 31-4 overall. All 10 victories in the Cavaliers’ streak have been by double digits, a franchise record.
LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller paced Charlotte with 24 points apiece, while Nick Smith Jr. had 18 off the bench. The Hornets dropped their 10th in a row and are 1-18 since Nov. 23.
Cleveland has not lost since Dec. 8 at Miami. Its lone home defeat was Nov. 27 against Atlanta.
MAGIC 105, JAZZ 92
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Brice Sensabaugh scored 27 points, Collin Sexton added 20 and Walker Kessler grabbed 17 rebounds for the Utah Jazz in a 105-92 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday night.
Sensabaugh shot 11 for 19 from the field including 5 of 6 on 3-pointers in 28 minutes off the bench.
Johnny Juzang, Kyle Filipowski and Svi Mykhhailiuk scored 12 points each for Utah, who have won two in a row.
Jett Howard led Orlando with a career-high 21 points. Wendell Carter Jr. had 15 points and Cole Anthony added 12 points in his first start since the final game of the 2022-23 season.
The Magic shot 36% overall and made 14 of 47 3-point shots (30%).
ROCKETS 119, LAKERS 115
HOUSTON (AP) — Jalen Green scored 33 points and Fred VanVleet grabbed a key steal late to allow Houston to hold on for a win over Los Angeles.
Amen Thompson added 23 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in his return after a two-game suspension to help Houston eke out the victory after leading by as many as 22.
A basket by LeBron James got the Lakers within 117-115 with eight seconds to go. Alperen Sengun missed 1 of 2 free throws after that to give Los Angeles a chance to tie it.
But VanVleet stole the inbounds pass intended for James. VanVleet made 1 of 2 free throws to secure the victory.
Anthony Davis had 30 points and 13 rebounds for the Lakers. James added 21 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.
KINGS 129, WARRIORS 99
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Malik Monk had 26 points and 12 assists, Domantas Sabonis contributed 22 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, and Sacramento dominated Golden State for their fourth straight win despite playing without leading scorer De’Aaron Fox.
The Kings never trailed, led 75-51 at halftime and didn’t look back — with many frustrated home fans heading early for the Chase Center exits while Sacramento’s lively contingent chanted “Let’s go Kings!”
Stephen Curry scored 26 to go with seven rebounds after resting the first night of a back-to-back Saturday against the Grizzlies, and Andrew Wiggins added 18 points.
This marked Sacramento’s first visit to Chase Center since coach Mike Brown — the former top assistant for Golden State — was dismissed Dec. 27 following a 13-18 start. Warriors coach Steve Kerr continued to express his “shock” over good friend Brown’s firing. Doug Christie is interim coach.
The Associated Press
