Skip to content

Gilgeous-Alexander stars as Thunder beat Bulls 123-119 in OT

Zach Beeker / National Basketball Association / Getty

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points, including five straight free throws in the final minute of overtime, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Chicago Bulls 123-119 on Friday night.

Josh Giddey had 10 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists as Oklahoma City stopped a three-game slide. Aleksej Pokusevski scored 15 points.

The Thunder were down 119-118 when Gilgeous-Alexander was fouled by DeMar DeRozan on a 3-point attempt with 27.1 seconds remaining in OT. After an unsuccessful challenge by Bulls coach Billy Donovan, Gilgeous-Alexander hit all three free throws.

At the other end, DeRozan missed a jumper with five seconds left. The Thunder rebounded and Gilgeous-Alexander was immediately fouled, hitting two more free throws.

DeRozan scored 30 points for Chicago, which was coming off encouraging victories over Boston and Milwaukee. Zach LaVine had 27 points, and Nikola Vucevic finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Oklahoma City led 87-80 after three quarters, but LaVine rallied Chicago with 12 points in the fourth.

DeRozan’s pullup jumper gave the Bulls a 108-104 lead with 2:33 remaining in regulation. But Gilgeous-Alexander made two foul shots and Kenrich Williams converted a tying layup with 1:38 left.

TIP-INS

Bulls: Alex Caruso had 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting. ... The Bulls shot 43.6% (44 of 101) from the field.

Thunder: It was the second straight overtime game for OKC, which lost at home Wednesday night to Denver. ... Led by Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder went 28 for 32 at the line.

NEXT

Bulls: Visit Jazz on Monday

Thunder: At Rockets on Saturday night.

___

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

Advertisement

RELATED NEWS