Thunder shock Lakers with 26-point comeback
Oct 27, 2021; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) goes to the basket between Los Angeles Lakers guard Avery Bradley (20) and guard Malik Monk (11) during the second half at Paycom Center. Oklahoma City won 123-115. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points to
help the host Oklahoma City Thunder rally from 26 down to beat the Los Angeles
Lakers 123-115 on Wednesday night.
The comeback matched the largest in Thunder
history and helped the team claim its first win of the season despite several
late miscues.
Up three in the final minute, Oklahoma City
had a timeout remaining but didn't use it, and Gilgeous-Alexander couldn't get
the ball across halfcourt in time, giving the ball back to Los Angeles with
16.8 seconds remaining. Malik Monk then missed a 3-pointer, the Thunder gave up
the ball again, and Carmelo Anthony missed another.
Russell Westbrook, making his first
appearance for the Lakers in the city where he spent his first 11 NBA seasons,
was ejected in the closing seconds after being called for his second technical
foul of the game. Westbrook was upset after Darius Bazley's steal and dunk in
the last five seconds.
Harrison Barnes buried a tiebreaking
3-pointer at the final horn, allowing Sacramento, after blowing a late 13-point
lead, to escape with a dramatic victory at Phoenix.
Buddy Hield came off the bench to score a
team-high 26 points, Barnes finished with 22 and De'Aaron Fox chipped in with
18 for the Kings, who opened a four-game trip by snapping a two-game losing
streak.
Devin Booker paced the Suns with a
game-high 31 points while DeAndre Ayton had 21 to go with a game-high 21
rebounds, but the Suns never went ahead after losing the lead for good late in
the third quarter.
Trae Young scored 31 points and John
Collins added a double-double as visiting Atlanta held off New Orleans.
Collins finished with 16 points and 12
rebounds, including a tiebreaking putback in the final minute. Atlanta's
De'Andre Hunter scored 13, and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 12.
Devonte' Graham scored 21 points, Brandon
Ingram had 20 points and eight assists and Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and
15 rebounds for the Pelicans.
CJ McCollum recorded 25 points and six
rebounds and Damian Lillard added 20 points and 10 assists to help Portland
post a victory over visiting Memphis.
Jusuf Nurkic added 17 points, eight
rebounds and three steals and Anfernee Simons scored 17 points off the bench
for the Trail Blazers. Portland committed 14 turnovers after giving the ball up
30 times in Monday's 116-86 road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Desmond Bane scored 19 points for the
Grizzlies on Wednesday before leaving with a cut over his eye late in the third
quarter. Ja Morant had 17 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for Memphis,
which dropped to 1-2 on a four-game Western road swing that ends Thursday
against the Golden State Warriors.
Fred VanVleet scored 26 points and grabbed
a career-best 10 rebounds and Toronto defeated visiting Indiana.
OG Anunoby added 25 points with five steals
and Scottie Barnes had 18 points, seven assists and seven rebounds for the
Raptors, who won for the second time in five games this season and for the
first time in four home games.
Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon, who had 18
points, left the game early in the third quarter with a sore left hamstring and
did not return. Chris Duarte scored 14 points for the Pacers, who have lost
four of five games.
Collin Sexton scored 26 points, Evan Mobley
recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds in his return to Los Angeles and Cleveland
led the Clippers nearly wire-to-wire.
Cleveland never trailed en route to its
third consecutive win and second on a five-game road swing, and the score was
tied only once. A Sexton free throw inside the first three minutes gave the
Cavaliers a 3-2 lead, and they were on top the rest of the way.
Cleveland locked up Los Angeles
defensively, holding the Clippers to just 35.6 percent shooting from the floor
and 22 percent (9 of 41) from behind the 3-point arc. The Cavaliers struggled
from long range as well, going 3 of 20 (15 percent).
D'Angelo Russell scored a team-high 29
points and had six assists as Minnesota held on for a win at Milwaukee.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards
finished with 25 points apiece for the Timberwolves, who won their first road
game of the season. Jarred Vanderbilt posted a double-double with 10 points and
13 rebounds in his first start of the season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 40
points, 16 rebounds and seven assists for the Bucks. Khris Middleton added 16
points and Grayson Allen had 13.
Bam Adebayo totaled 24 points and nine
rebounds as visiting Miami dominated inside against Brooklyn.
Jimmy Butler added 17 points, 14 rebounds,
seven assists and four steals. P.J. Tucker added 15 points and seven boards as
the Heat survived shooting 39.6 percent.
Kevin Durant led all scorers with 25
points, but the Nets shot just 38.8 percent and scored two baskets in the final
4:33. The Nets lost for the third time in five games this season, and each loss
has been by double digits.
Montrezl Harrell tallied 25 points and 11
rebounds, Spencer Dinwiddie added 22 points and Washington held off host
Boston.
Dinwiddie's layup with 48.8 seconds to go
made it 112-107 and he sealed the game with four free throws in the final 27.1.
Beal had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Kyle Kuzma scored 12 with eight boards and
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 11 for Washington, which has won three of four
to open the season.
Jayson Tatum had 23 points and seven
rebounds and Schroder scored 22 with six assists to lead the Celtics, who fell
to 0-2 at home.
Miles Bridges scored 31 points, Jalen
McDaniels and Cody Martin combined for 28 points off the bench, and Charlotte
returned to the win column vs. host Orlando.
Bridges went 11-for-21 from the floor,
knocking down five 3-pointers, as the Southeast Division-leading Hornets
rebounded from an overtime loss to Boston two days earlier. Bridges hit 20
points for a fourth straight game, marking the longest such streak of his
career. Gordon Hayward contributed 24 points, five rebounds and five assists,
helping Charlotte improve to 3-0 on the road this season.
Orlando, which fell to 0-2 at Amway Center this season, had five players score in double figures, led by Cole Anthony's 24 points. Wendell Carter Jr. contributed 20 points and 10 rebounds and Terrence Ross came off the bench to score 18 points.

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