OKC's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has delivered his devastating best with ball in hand against Denver. (AP PHOTO)
OKC's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has delivered his devastating best with ball in hand against Denver. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAP
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 40 points and Oklahoma City defeated visiting Denver 127-103 in a matchup between the top two teams in the Western Conference.
Gilgeous-Alexander had eight assists and made all eight of his free throws for the West-leading Thunder, who won their seventh straight game and improved to 53-11 on Sunday. Jalen Williams added 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
The Nuggets' Nikola Jokic, who along with Gilgeous-Alexander is a top contender in the NBA MVP race, had 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. He was coming off the league's first 30-20-20 triple-double in his team's 149-141 overtime victory over Phoenix on Friday night.
Michael Porter Jr. had 24 points and 15 rebounds for Denver (41-23).
The hosts led 61-60 at halftime and took an 86-83 lead into the fourth period.
In a key sequence, Oklahoma City's Aaron Wiggins stole the ball from Russell Westbrook, then Chet Holmgren dunked at the other end to give the Thunder a 98-91 lead with just under nine minutes remaining. Nuggets coach Michael Malone was called for a technical foul, and Williams made the free throw. OKC controlled the game from there.
In Dallas, Devin Booker scored 24 points, Kevin Durant had 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the Suns beat the injury-depleted Mavericks 125-116.
Bradley Beal scored 19 points and Grayson Allen added 17 as Phoenix pulled within one-and-a-half games of Dallas for the 10th seed in the West, the final spot in the play-in tournament.
Naji Marshall had a career high for the second consecutive game with 34 points for the Mavs, who were down to seven healthy players by the end of the game.
Dallas big men Kessler Edwards and Dwight Powell went to the locker room after their heads collided chasing a loose ball late in the third quarter. Guard Brandon Williams was later ruled out with left hamstring tightness.
The Mavericks (32-33) matched their longest losing streak of the season at five games and dropped below .500 for the first time since mid-November. They have lost all three matches since star guard Kyrie Irving's season-ending knee injury.
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