Shai Gilgeous-Alexander kept his scoring roll alive as the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied to stay perfect, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 126-107 on Tuesday night.
The reigning NBA and Finals MVP powered Oklahoma City with 30 points, 12 assists and four rebounds, lifting the Thunder to 8-0 and sole possession of first place in the Western Conference.
Gilgeous-Alexander has now scored at least 20 points in 80 straight games – trailing only Wilt Chamberlain’s legendary streaks of 92 and 126 games on the all-time list.
“I just put in the work, I take care of my body, I get enough rest and I do it all over again,” the Canadian said.
“I’ve found a formula that works for me, and I just try to hammer it home every day, every opportunity that I can.”
Gilgeous-Alexander said his teammates were not dwelling on their unbeaten start to the season.
“We don’t talk about it,” he said. “Just focus on the day-to-day and the game-to-game. Every night’s an opportunity to go win one, and we’ve done a good job of that for the last eight games. We’ve got to keep it going.”
Oklahoma City was made to work for its latest victory at the Clippers’ Intuit Dome, with the home side roaring to a 33-20 lead in the first quarter thanks to a 17-point burst from James Harden.
The Thunder responded in the second, outscoring the Clippers 33-24 to cut the deficit to one point at halftime. They carried that momentum through the second half, pouring in 38 points in the third quarter and dominating the fourth to seal the win.
In Chicago, the Bulls staged a dramatic comeback from 24 points down to edge the Philadelphia 76ers 113-111 in a showdown between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
The 76ers looked headed for a rout after a 45-27 first quarter behind Tyrese Maxey’s four 3-pointers. They extended the margin to 75-56 at halftime, but Chicago flipped the script after the break, outscoring Philadelphia 28-20 in the third quarter and surging late in the fourth.
Nikola Vucevic’s 3-pointer with just over three seconds left sealed the win for Chicago, which improved to 6-1 to lead the East.
Australia’s Josh Giddey led the Bulls with a 29-point triple-double that included 15 rebounds and 12 assists.
“We were really disappointed in the first half, physically,” coach Billy Donovan said. “We were very fortunate to win. I’m happy they fought, never gave up, battled and competed and were able to win.
“But we’re not going to be a very good team if we just try to rely on running the ball down the floor and shooting. We’ve got to be more physical.”
In San Francisco, the Golden State Warriors preserved their unbeaten home record with a 118-107 win over the Phoenix Suns, as Stephen Curry scored 28 points and Moses Moody added 24 off the bench.
Elsewhere, the Toronto Raptors dominated the Milwaukee Bucks 128-100 to extend their winning streak to three games.
Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett scored 23 points apiece as Milwaukee stumbled to its heaviest loss of the season.
“We just didn’t have it tonight,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “We were late on everything. Their energy, their quickness, their physicality took us out of the game, so give them credit – they were very well prepared.”
The Bucks slipped to 5-3 and remained fourth in the Eastern Conference, while Toronto improved to 4-4.
