Dazzling Shai puts Thunder back on track

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder got back to winning ways with a 119-103 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

Reigning National Basketball Association (NBA) Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander led the scoring to give the Thunder a morale-boosting victory after their defeat in Minnesota on Friday.

“We weren’t at our best tonight but we did enough to win — but we’ve still got to get better,” Gilgeous-Alexander told NBC television.

Memphis flirted with an upset after starting brightly, taking an early seven-point lead in the first quarter before Oklahoma City took control in the second quarter.

Gilgeous-Alexander was backed by 24 points from Jalen Williams while Ajay Mitchell had 16 off the bench.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s 31-point contribution extended his incredible scoring streak.

The Canadian star has now scored 20 points or more in 100 consecutive games, making him only the second player to achieve that feat after Wilt Chamberlain.

“My teammates let me shoot whatever shots I want to out there,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.

“The coaching staff trust me and I put in the work to get better each and every day.”

The win improved Oklahoma City’s record to 26-3 at the top of the Western Conference standings. The Thunder play second-placed San Antonio on Tuesday.

In other games on Monday, the Denver Nuggets kept up their pursuit of Oklahoma City in the West with a 135-112 pummeling of the Utah Jazz in Colorado.