Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks 120-109 on Sunday night.
It was supposed to be a showdown between two of the league’s top scorers in Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas guard Luka Doncic, but Doncic — the NBA’s scoring leader with 34 points per game — sat out with a sore left ankle. Doncic had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists Saturday in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Gilgeous-Alexander, a guard who entered the night fourth in the league with 30.9 points per game, made 11 of 17 field goals and 11 of 13 free throws.
Christian Wood had 27 points and 16 rebounds, and Spencer Dinwiddie added 21 points and eight assists for the Mavericks.
Gilgeous-Alexander took over in the third quarter. He drove to the hoop, was fouled and somehow flipped the ball in with 28 seconds left in the period. His free throw gave the Thunder a 94-82 lead. His floater at the buzzer rattled in to push Oklahoma City’s edge to 96-83. He scored 17 points in the quarter on 7-for-10 shooting from the field.
The Thunder put it out of reach in the fourth. A steal by Gilgeous-Alexander led to a dunk by Lu Dort that put Oklahoma City ahead 116-98 with 4:26 to play.
