OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Chet Holmgren scored 35 points and tied a career high with 14 rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the short-handed Utah Jazz 119-107 on Wednesday night.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 of his 31 points in the second half for the Thunder, who have the best record in the Western Conference at 48-20.
Alexander became the 13th player in NBA history to score 30 or more points in 50 games.
Collin Sexton had 25 points for Utah, which played without injured players Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson – two of the team’s top three scorers.
Oklahoma City took a 22-11 lead on an alley-oop pass and dunk from Josh Giddey to Holmgren. Utah scored 10 of the next 12 points to get within 24-21.
Holmgren had nine points and seven rebounds in eight minutes, and the Thunder led 31-25 after one quarter.
The Jazz outscored Oklahoma City 29-22 in the second to take a 54-53 advantage at halftime. Sexton led Utah with 13 points.
Oklahoma City trailed 61-57 early in the third but went on an 11-0 run to take a 68-61 lead. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 points in the quarter and the Thunder led 82-80 to start the final quarter.
The Thunder took control midway through the fourth, outscoring the Jazz 20-4 at one point to lead 100-86. A 3-pointer by Aaron Wiggins and two 3-point plays by Holmgren – both fouling on dunks – highlighted the run.
The lead grew to 16 points on a 3 by Holmgren and his fifth dunk of the game with 5:50 to play.
Holmgren shot 12 of 18 from the field and the Thunder shot 43 of 88 (48.9 percent) as a team.
FOLLOWING
Jazz: Visit the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.
Thunder: Visit the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
APNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
