The Oklahoma City Thunder extended their winning streak to 13 games on Tuesday, fending off a late Golden State Warriors rally to claim a 124-112 victory at the Chase Center in San Francisco, MySportDab Reports.
Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 28 points, guiding Oklahoma City to a 21-1 record and cementing their position atop the Western Conference standings.
The Thunder looked set for a dominant win, entering halftime with a commanding 63-44 lead. Despite missing injured star Stephen Curry, the Warriors surged back in the third quarter, scoring 44 points to briefly take the lead in the fourth.
Oklahoma City, however, regrouped in the closing minutes, with Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren combining for 16 points down the stretch to secure the win.
“Games are gonna look different every night,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “Sometimes we’re gonna win big, sometimes we’re gonna have to gut something out. But regardless, we stayed in the moment and did whatever it took to get the W.”
Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics overcame an early deficit to edge the New York Knicks 123-117 at TD Garden. Jaylen Brown starred with 42 points as Boston recovered from a slow start, trailing by 14 points early in the second quarter.
The Celtics dominated the remainder of the first half, outscoring the Knicks 37-20 to take a 58-52 lead at halftime. A strong third-quarter performance saw them stretch the advantage to 18 points, before the Knicks launched a furious fourth-quarter rally, led by Mikal Bridges’ 17 points and Karl-Anthony Towns’ 11 points.
“Just a great team victory all around,” Brown said. “We started off slow, but that’s why there’s four quarters. We’re getting better every day. Don’t count us out.”
Bridges led New York with 35 points, including eight three-pointers, while Towns added 29.
Elsewhere, Anthony Edwards scored 44 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves overcame the New Orleans Pelicans 149-142 in overtime, improving to 13-8.
The San Antonio Spurs edged the Memphis Grizzlies 126-119, and the Toronto Raptors narrowly defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 121-118, rounding out a thrilling night of NBA action.
