Gilgeous-Alexander powers Thunder past Raptors

TORONTO – Hamilton’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points in 30 minutes of play to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder past the Toronto Raptors 129-92 on Thursday.
Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers despite going 1-for-10 from three-point range as Oklahoma City (17-5) almost led wire-to-wire. The perennial MVP candidate added five assists and four rebounds.
Jalen Williams had 20 points and seven rebounds in the Thunder’s dominant win. Isaiah Joe went 4 for 6 from three-point range in a 16-point performance and Montreal’s Lu Dort played dogged defence, scoring six points with six rebounds.
RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., and Scottie Barnes each had a double-double for Toronto (7-16) despite poor shooting performances. Barrett finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Barnes had 12 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
The Raptors’ injury carousel took another spin before the game.
Gradey Dick scored 15 points in his return to Toronto’s lineup after missing five games with a sore calf.
Centre Jakob Poeltl, arguably the Raptors’ best player this season, was ruled out due to illness hours before tipoff. Bruno Fernando, who started in his place, had four points and seven rebounds.
Takeaways
Thunder: OKC played stifling defence against Barrett and Barnes. Barrett had been on a hot streak for his past four games, averaging 28.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and seven assists in that span. However, he struggled against the Thunder with 5 for 16 shooting from field-goal range. Barnes averaged 24.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.8 assists in his last four games before making only five of his 13 field-goal attempts on Thursday.
Raptors: Rookies Jamison Battle, Jonathan Mogbo, Ja’Kobe Walter and Jamal Shead all played twice on Thursday, starting for Raptors 905 in a 134-92 matinee win over the Greensboro Swarm in a G-League game at Scotiabank Arena before coming off the bench in Toronto’s game in the evening. Mogbo led all reserves in the NBA game with 17 points.
Key moment
Barnes hit a 26-foot three-pointer to open the scoring at the 38-second mark. That was the last lead Toronto would hold, as the Thunder replied with a 13-0 run for a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Key stat
Dick was 4 for 8 from three-point range. The rest of the Raptors were seven for 37 (18.9 per cent) from beyond the arc.
Up next
Toronto’s five-game homestand continues on Saturday night as it hosts the Dallas Mavericks.
The Thunder travel to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans on Saturday.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024.