By Canadian Press

Gilgeous-Alexander scores 40 as Thunder top Suns 124-120

Mar 19, 2023 | 4:43 PM

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns 124-120 on Sunday.

Fellow Canadian Luguentz Dort added 20 points for the Thunder, who have won four of five as they try to earn at least a play-in spot. Oklahoma City has missed the playoffs the past two years.

Devin Booker scored 46 points and Chris Paul added 14 points and 13 assists for the Suns.

Phoenix led 69-57 at halftime behind 16 points from Booker. The Suns shot 52.2% from the field before the break. Gilgeous-Alexander, a Hamilton, Ont., native, had 21 points in the first half to keep the Thunder in it.

Gilgeous-Alexander stole the ball in the closing seconds of the third quarter and scored a layup while being fouled with 0.4 seconds remaining. He made the free throw to cut Phoenix’s lead to 96-90 at the end of the period.

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Phoenix went up 100-90 before the Thunder went on an 18-2 run. Oklahoma City tied the game at 100 on a layup by Aaron Wiggins with a little over seven minutes remaining. 

Oklahoma City took a 103-102 lead about 40 seconds later on a 3-pointer by Dort, a Montreal native, and the Thunder pushed the lead out to 108-102 before Phoenix called timeout. The Thunder held off a late surge in the final minute.

TIP-INS

Suns: F Kevin Durant remained out with a sprained left ankle. … C Deandre Ayton sat out with a bruised right hip. … C Bismack Biyombo was issued a technical foul in the first quarter. 

Thunder: C Dario Saric scored four points against the Suns, the team he was traded from earlier this season. Suns F Darius Bazley, who moved from Oklahoma City in the Saric deal, scored three points in seven minutes. He was cheered when he entered the game as a reserve in the second quarter. … G Josh Giddey was given a technical in the second quarter.

UP NEXT

Suns: Visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.

Thunder: Visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.

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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: twitter.com/CliffBruntAP

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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Cliff Brunt, The Associated Press