Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder harried Golden State into an NBA season-high 29 turnovers in a thrilling 138-136 NBA overtime victory on Friday.
In front of an ecstatic crowd in Oklahoma City, the Thunder opened a 10-point lead in overtime on rookie Chet Holmgren’s three-point play with 1:52 remaining.
The Warriors cut the deficit to two points with less than a minute to go but couldn’t get over the hump.
The game was one of 13 on the slate on Friday, before Saturday’s showdown between the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers for the first NBA Cup.
San Antonio rookie Victor Wembanyama notched another milestone, scoring 21 points and grabbing 20 rebounds, but it didn’t prevent the Spurs from falling to a franchise record-equalling 16th straight defeat, 121-112 to the Chicago Bulls.
The 19-year-old French phenomenon became the youngest player in NBA history to record a 20-point, 20-rebound game, surpassing Dwight Howard who was a few days closer to his 20th birthday when he did it in 2005.
In other games, Philadelphia’s reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid scored 38 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to propel the 76ers to a 125-114 victory over the Atlanta Hawks despite a late injury scare.
The Cameroonian big man appeared to injure his left knee, going down hard in the lane in the waning minutes.
He was slowed but stayed in the game, draining a turnaround jumper to extend the Sixers’ lead to four points with two and a half minutes to go.
It was part of a 15-0 scoring run that saw the Sixers pull away. Tyrese Maxey, who finished with 30 points, drilled a three-pointer in the burst capped by De’Anthony Melton’s dunk.
Embiid downplayed the injury after the game.
“I just twisted it,” Embiid said. “So we are going to talk about it and see how it feels. But I don’t know. I should be fine.”
In Oklahoma City, Stephen Curry’s three-pointer put the Warriors up by three with 19 seconds left in regulation.
Holmgren, fouled on a three-point attempt, calmly drained three free throws to tie it at 118-118 with 7.7 seconds left.
Turnovers and fouls
Curry missed a last-gasp three-pointer and they went to the extra session. Curry scored 10 of his 34 points in overtime, but the Warriors couldn’t overcome the 29 turnovers that led to 35 Thunder points.
“It’s turnovers and fouls, that’s what it comes down to,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We’re good enough to win the championship, I believe that. But if we’re going to just turn the ball over, throw the basketball to the other team, and foul, then we’re going to lose.”
In Denver the reigning champion Nuggets suffered their first home defeat of the season, falling 114-106 to the Houston Rockets — who fended off a late Nuggets surge to win for the first time on the road.
The Dallas Mavericks led wire-to-wire in a 125-112 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, but saw Kyrie Irving exit in the second quarter with a foot injury.
Irving was down after being fouled when teammate Dwight Powell, going for the rebound, fell hard onto his lower leg.
In Boston, Derrick White scored 30 points and Kristaps Porzingis returned from a four-game injury absence to add 21 in the Celtics’ 133-123 victory over the New York Knicks.
Jayson Tatum added 25 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Celtics. Jaylen Brown scored 17 before he was ejected after getting two quick technicals in the fourth quarter.
Brown, apparently irked by a foul call, said something to draw a technical. Subbed out of the game, he continued jawing and was handed a second technical and tossed for the first time in his career.
In Orlando, Franz Wagner scored 27 points and Paolo Banchero added 24 for the Magic, who handed the Detroit Pistons a 19th straight defeat 123-91.
