Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points on 12-of-15 shooting to guide the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-102 win over the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.
Gilgeous-Alexander also dished out nine assists, joining Isaiah Hartenstein (nine points, 16 rebounds) in barely missing a double-double. Jalen Williams contributed 24 points for the Thunder, while Cason Wallace notched 18 points.
Oklahoma City shot 55.6 percent from the field and went 16-for-18 from the foul line.
Justin Edwards (25 points) and Jeff Dowtin Jr. (18) set new career highs for Philadelphia, which played without eight of its top 10 players in terms of minutes per game. Joel Embiid (foot), Tyrese Maxey (hand) and Paul George (ankle) were among the absent Sixers as the team lost for the sixth time in eight games.
Guerschon Yabusele chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds for Philadelphia.
The Sixers trailed by 21 points in the first quarter but kept fighting, getting as close as 91-87 after Edwards and Eric Gordon hit 3-pointers early in the fourth.
However, Williams and Hartenstein combined for all the offense during an 8-0 run that essentially sealed the outcome. The Thunder led by double digits the rest of the way en route to their 13th win in 14 games.
Oklahoma City led 12-9 about 4 1/2 minutes into the contest when Luguentz Dort’s 3-pointer ignited a 20-2 run. Dort added another 3-pointer shortly thereafter, while Gilgeous-Alexander scored 10 points during the burst, knocking down a 3-pointer that made it 32-11.
The Sixers closed within 37-21 by the end of the quarter and briefly got their deficit to single digits in the second period, but the Thunder regained the momentum and led 58-43 at halftime.
Gilgeous-Alexander was 8-for-8 from the field for 19 points in the first half.
Oklahoma City led by 19 on three occasions in the third quarter, but Philadelphia chipped away at its deficit late in the session. The hosts ended the quarter on a 14-4 run, capped by Yabusele’s putback at the buzzer, to get within 87-81 heading into the fourth.
