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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder avenged last week’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers with a stunning 134-114 victory on Thursday in a one-sided matchup between the NBA’s leading rivals.
Gilgeous-Alexander delivered a dazzling all-around performance, earning the 18th 40-point game of his career by overcoming a shell-shocked Cavs lineup at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
The 26-year-old Gilgeous-Alexander finished the game with 40 points, eight assists and three rebounds, the standout performance in a blowout that no one expected.
Luguentz Dort provided offensive support with 22 points, including six of nine from three-point range. Jalen Williams added 19 points.
Darius Garland led Cleveland in scoring with 20 points, while Donovan Mitchell was limited to just eight points.
The result leaves Oklahoma City and Cleveland atop their respective conferences with identical records of 34-6.
Gilgeous-Alexander tried to downplay the significance of the win after the final buzzer.
“Tonight was a good performance. We did what we were supposed to do,” the Canadian point guard told TNT Television.
“But for us, it was just another night of basketball, another night of competing together, another night of competition.”
“It happened to be a hype game. It happened to be on TV. But for us, we are at home in front of the best fans in the NBA; We gave it our all and the result was the result.”
However, Gilgeous-Alexander admitted that the Thunder were pleased to suffer such a resounding loss against a team that had the best record in the league before Thursday.
“It’s the best of the best and of course you want to compete with the best to find out where you really stand,” he said. “We tested ourselves and I think we passed.”
The Cavaliers, who lead the Eastern Conference, beat the Thunder 129-122 in a hard-fought battle in Cleveland last Wednesday.
Most analysts had expected another close contest Thursday in the rematch between two teams many expect to meet in the NBA Finals in June.
But the Cavaliers never recovered from the first-quarter onslaught that saw the Thunder jump to a 32-14 lead after a rapid 22-2 run.
Oklahoma City kept its foot on the gas pedal for the remainder of the first half, punishing a number of defensive errors by Cleveland to take a commanding 75-49 lead at halftime.
The Thunder forced 13 turnovers on the Cavaliers, which turned into 22 points in the first half.
The rout continued after halftime, and the Thunder extended their lead to 33 points early in the third quarter, leading 87-54.
The lead had grown to 38 points by the end of the third quarter, with Cleveland trailing 119-81.
That gave Thunder coach Mark Daigneault the luxury of resting most of his starters in the fourth quarter while the bench secured the win.
In other NBA games on Thursday, Devin Booker scored 37 points and Kevin Durant added 23 as the Phoenix Suns defeated the Washington Wizards 130-123 on the road.
In Detroit, the Indiana Pacers defeated the Pistons 111-100 with 28 points from Myles Turner and 26 from Pascal Siakam.
rcw/cwl
