Thunder Extend East Winning Streak to 20; Bulls Bench Keys Win; Sixers Mount Another Fourth-Quarter Rally
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Oklahoma City, Orlando and Philadelphia — A dominant night for the Western Conference leaders, an energetic bench performance in Florida and a second consecutive comeback in Pennsylvania headlined Sunday’s NBA action.
Thunder 117, Hawks 100
Oklahoma City kept its perfect record intact and pushed its regular-season run against Eastern Conference opponents to 20 straight victories. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paced the Thunder with 30 points, five assists and four rebounds, while rookie center Chet Holmgren erupted for 31 points and 12 boards. Isaiah Hartenstein added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and rookie guard Ajay Mitchell supplied 14 points and seven assists as the Thunder moved to 3-0.
The Hawks were led by Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s 17 points. Trae Young recorded 15 points and 10 assists, and Onyeka Okongwu finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Oklahoma City has now won 31 of its last 32 meetings with Eastern franchises.
Bulls 102, Magic 97
Chicago leaned on its reserves for 58 points in a road victory over Orlando. Tre Jones ignited the second unit with 13 points, five rebounds, eight assists and a career-high five steals. The third-year guard has collected eight steals through two games, the highest two-game total of his career.
Second-year forward Matas Buzelis logged only 12 minutes, but the Bulls’ bench overcame Orlando’s 20 free-throw attempts in the third quarter to secure the win.
76ers 125, Hornets 121
Philadelphia erased a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit for the second night in a row to improve to 2-0. Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points, Quentin Grimes followed with 24, and reigning MVP Joel Embiid added 20. No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe contributed 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
The 76ers will try to extend their early streak when they host the Magic on Monday.
Source: Hoops Wire
