Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored eight of his 47 points in overtime, and the Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Detroit Pistons 114-110 on Monday night in a matchup of the NBA’s conference leaders.

The betting favourite to repeat as the league’s MVP, Gilgeous-Alexander was 12 of 19 from the field and made 21 of his 25 attempts from the free throw line.

With typical starters Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein inactive, no other Thunder player scored more than 14 points.

With the score tied in the last 15 seconds of regulation, Gilgeous-Alexander got a steal but was then called for an offensive foul on the other end, before a potential go-ahead shot.

With the victory, the Thunder became the first team this season to reach 60 wins (60-16) as they improved to 15-1 in their last 16 games.

Detroit pushed Oklahoma City, despite playing without injured All-Stars Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren.

Paul Reed led the way for the Pistons with 21 points and 10 rebounds as Detroit fell to 54-21.

 

Wembanyama makes history, Spurs keep rolling

Victor Wembanyama recorded the fastest double-double in NBA history on his way to scoring a season-high 41 points, and the San Antonio Spurs extended their winning streak to nine games with a 129-114 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Wembanyama collected his 10th rebound in 8 minutes, 31 seconds on the court, edging The St. Louis Hawks’ Jim Washington’s previous record of nine minutes against the New York Knicks on March 6, 1966.

Wembanyama finished with 16 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots to go with his 41 points, shooting 17 of 27 from the field.

Stephon Castle had 21 points and 10 assists for the Spurs (57-18), who remained two games back in the loss column of the Thunder.

Tre Jones scored a team-high 23 points for the Bulls.

Chicago made headlines earlier in the day for waiving guard Jaden Ivey less than two months after trading for him. Ivey had published videos to his social media in recent days containing anti-LGBTQ remarks.

 

Hawks avenge loss, tame Celtics

Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson both recorded 20-point double-doubles, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Boston Celtics 112-102, avenging a loss in Boston three days ago and securing their 13th consecutive home win.

Atlanta pulled ahead by winning the third quarter 36-22 and held on in the fourth for their 16th win in their last 20 games.

Their recent hot streak has pulled the Hawks (43-33) out of position for the play-in tournament, and Monday’s win placed them into a tie with the Toronto Raptors for the East’s No. 5 seed.

Boston’s (50-25) loss ended a three-game winning streak, as Jaylen Brown had a team-high 29 points and 10 rebounds. Luka Garza added 20 points and nine rebounds.

The Celtics played without Jayson Tatum (injury management), who is recovering from Achilles reconstruction surgery.