JALLEN WILLIAMS AFTER SIGNING A FIVE-YEAR $287 MILLION EXTENSION DEAL 😁

 

THUNDER RALLY TO BEAT PACERS AND LEVEL NBA FINALS

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (left) has averaged 32.8 points per game in the NBA Finals

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder came from behind late on to beat the Indiana Pacers and level the NBA Finals.

The Thunder won 111-104 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to tie the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

They trailed by seven points entering the fourth quarter but outscored Indiana 31-17 in the last period, closing with a 12-1 run in the last three minutes.

"I knew what it would have looked like if we lost tonight," said Gilgeous-Alexander. "I didn't want to go down not swinging."

Thunder coach Mark Daigneaul gave Gilgeous-Alexander, this season's Most Valuable Player, a break late in the third quarter rather than his usual rest early in the fourth.

The Pacers led 101-97 with less than four minutes remaining, but Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 of the Thunder's final 16 points and ended the game with 10 free-throws from 10 attempts.

Jalen Williams scored 27 points and made seven rebounds for the Thunder, while Alex Caruso added 20 points off the bench.

Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 20 points and Tyrese Haliburton 18.

"We just didn't execute at the end of the game," said Siakam. "We didn't get easy shots. The easy shots that we got, we missed them. And they made them."

The Thunder host game five at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City at 19:30 local time on Monday (01:30 BST, Tuesday).

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO CARRIES RED-HOT BUCKS TO NBA CUP TITLE

USA TODAY Sports

LAS VEGAS -- Everyone has a lucky number in Las Vegas. For the Milwaukee Bucks, it was 3.

And the NBA Cup was their prize.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 26 points to go along with 19 rebounds and 10 assists, Damian Lillard added 23 points and the Bucks connected on 17 3-pointers on their way to beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-81 in the NBA Cup title game Tuesday night.

Brook Lopez and Gary Trent Jr. each scored 13 for the Bucks, who joined the Los Angeles Lakers as the only champions of the 2-year-old event. A 19-5 Milwaukee run in the second half turned what was a five-point game into a 19-point lead early in the fourth, and the Bucks kept control the rest of the way.

"It's great, it's great for our team," Antetokounmpo said. "We're getting better. ... We know we're leaving Vegas as a better team. I'm so proud of this group. Man, I'm so proud of this group."

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 and Jalen Williams added 18 for the Thunder, who had scored at least 99 points in every game this season. But they sputtered in plenty of ways Tuesday, getting outscored 51-15 from beyond the arc and shooting only 34% from the floor.

Isaiah Hartenstein had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which was held to 31 points after halftime.

"We did some good things. We outscored them in the paint so obviously we did the job defensively on that end," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "But obviously a tough night offensively all the way around for us. We didn't score nearly enough points, especially in the second half, to give ourselves a chance to win. But we can learn from it, move forward here."

It's a game that counted only for tournament purposes. There was about $300,000 in additional bonus money for Bucks players -- they got $514,971 apiece, while the Thunder players got $205,988 each -- but the win, the loss and the statistics from the game won't count toward the regular season.

Mired toward the bottom of the NBA after a 2-8 start, the Bucks have been on a tear since. This was their 13th win in their past 16 games, even though it won't be part of the official record.

No matter: When the Bucks emptied their bench with 1:37 left, Antetokounmpo pumped his fists as if it were a true championship moment.

He has won bigger games -- he and the Bucks captured the 2021 NBA title, after all. But they said from the outset of this tournament that the NBA Cup championship was a priority.

And they left no doubt in the end.

"We struggled coming out of the gates," Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. "No one here doubted what we can be and who we can be and we just hung in there. We stuck together and this is the byproduct of a team sticking together. But we still have work to do."

Antetokounmpo was even more succinct: "Job's not done," he said.

His point was clear: There's another title to chase. But this was still a trophy moment to celebrate.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

- ESPN News Services

OKC SHUTS DOWN LUKA DONCIC, MAVS, MOVE ON TO NBA CUP SEMIFINALS

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 39 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks 118-104 on Tuesday night in an NBA Cup quarterfinal.

Jalen Williams scored 18 points and Isaiah Hartenstein added 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder, who will play Wednesday's Golden State Warriors-Houston Rockets winner in a semifinal on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Oklahoma City's largest lead was 20 points in a rematch of last season's Western Conference semifinals series that Dallas won 4-2.

The Thunder and their collection of elite perimeter defenders held Luka Doncic to 16 points on 5-for-15 shooting. Luguentz Dort led the OKC effort, with Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace among the primary helpers.

P.J. Washington, a thorn in Oklahoma City's side during the playoffs last season as well as in Dallas' road victory last month, missed the contest with an illness.

Oklahoma City led 57-54 at halftime behind 18 points from Gilgeous-Alexander. Doncic had two points on 1-for-7 shooting at the break.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting in the third quarter to help the Thunder take control. Isaiah Joe's deep 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Oklahoma City a 90-73 lead heading into the fourth.

Takeaways

Mavericks: Dallas made too many mistakes to have a chance. The Thunder scored 36 points off the Mavericks' 19 turnovers.

Thunder: Oklahoma City brought in the 7-foot, 255-pound Hartenstein as a free agent in the offseason to provide bulk and rebounding. It paid off: The Thunder outrebounded the Mavericks 52-44.

Key moment

Oklahoma City opened the second half on a 13-2 run. Gilgeous-Alexander scored nine points during that stretch to help the Thunder take a 70-56 lead.

Key stat

The Mavericks made just 6 of 19 field goals in the third quarter after shooting 50% from the field in the first half.

Up next

Mavericks: Host the LA Clippers on Dec. 19.

Thunder: Will play Golden State or Houston in the NBA Cup semifinals Saturday in Las Vegas.

KYRIE IRVING AND LUKA DONCIC HELP MAVS HOLD OFF THUNDER AGAIN FOR 2-1 LEAD IN WEST SEMIS

AP Photo 

 DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic already had a balky right knee and an achy left ankle when he fell hard on his back while battling his primary defender, Lu Dort, for a loose ball.

Not only did Doncic win the ensuing jump ball, the NBA scoring champion tracked down the loose ball that followed with his Dallas Mavericks clinging to a late lead.

“Everything,” Doncic said when asked what hurt, a few minutes after walking gingerly to the locker room with Dallas having beaten Oklahoma City 105-101 on Saturday to secure a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. “I'm just battling out there.”

The same could be said for plenty of others.

Kyrie Irving scored 22 points, including a running left-hander in the lane in the final minute to help the Mavs hold on.

Doncic also had 22 points to go with 15 rebounds, and P.J. Washington Jr. scored 27, just two shy of his playoff high from Dallas' Game 2 victory.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, but was called for a charge with Doncic defending on a drive with 29 seconds left and the Thunder trailing by five.

Chet Holmgren, who scored 13 points, also had four blocks as Oklahoma City finished with 10. But the Thunder were outrebounded 16-5 on the offensive glass by the scrappy Mavs, who had a 16-9 edge in second-chance points.

Top-seeded Oklahoma City has lost consecutive games after starting 5-0 in the playoffs. Game 4 is Monday night in Dallas.

“It's extremely competitive,” Holmgren said. “Both teams really want it. If you take the result out of it, it's everything that you want to be going through in a basketball game.”

Irving bounced back from just the third single-digit scoring game of his lengthy playoff career with 14 points in the second half, including six consecutive Dallas points in the fourth quarter that helped the Mavs to their biggest lead of the final period at nine.

AP Photo 

The Dallas lead was three after a missed 3-pointer from Gilgeous-Alexander when Irving drove across the lane and hit a runner for a 104-99 lead with 39 seconds to go.

The eight-time All-Star, coming off just eight shots and nine points when Dallas evened the series in Oklahoma City, was 10 of 17 from the field and had seven assists to lead the team for the second game in a row.

“One of my coaches just came up to me and said I waited too long, so obviously I’ve got to be better on my end,” said Irving, who made all four of his fourth-quarter shots. “We’re going against a young team. So we just want to continue to do the things that get us these W's, and it starts on the defensive end.”

Washington had a 19-point first half for the second consecutive game, once again finishing three points shy of the combined total before the break for Irving and Doncic. Washington was 3 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half and 5 of 12 for the game.

“He's hooping,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We've got to turn that water off if we want to win this series, for sure.”

Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault decided to foul Dereck Lively II intentionally in the fourth quarter, and the rookie center missed three of the first four free throws. But he hit the next four in a row, the last putting Dallas up 100-95 with 3:06 to go.

Lively, who shot 51% from the line in the regular season and came in 11 of 21 in the playoffs, finished 8 of 12 on free throws and had 12 points and eight rebounds.

Mavericks center Daniel Gafford, who dealt with a dislocated pinkie finger in Game 2, exited in the second quarter after injuring his left shoulder in an inadvertent collision with Josh Giddey.

Gafford returned to the court for the second half with the shoulder in a large wrap, but took it off and was still in the starting lineup. He was limited to six minutes after the break, finishing with eight points.

Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams stayed down for almost 30 seconds of live action in the third quarter, ending in a 3-pointer by Irving, after injuring his left ankle. Williams went the locker room briefly but returned early in the fourth quarter and finished with 16 points and eight assists.

Isaiah Joe had his playoff career best for a game with 10 points before halftime, hitting a 3 just before the buzzer to give Oklahoma City a 52-51 lead at the break. Joe finished with 13.

- SCHUYLER DIXON

NBA ROUNDUP: THUNDER END JAZZ'S WINNING STREAK

USA TODAY Sports 

 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped the Utah Jazz's six-game winning streak with a 134-129 victory Thursday night in Salt Lake City.

Jalen Williams hit 11 of 14 shots for 27 points and added eight assists while Josh Giddey contributed 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as the Thunder bounced back after two losses in Los Angeles.

Cason Wallace hit a career-high four 3-pointers to score 16 points for Oklahoma City, which never trailed and shot a blistering 55.8 percent overall

Collin Sexton boosted the Jazz with 31 points and seven assists and Lauri Markkanen totaled 26 points and 10 rebounds, but Utah couldn't complete a comeback after falling behind big early. John Collins chipped in 21 points.

NBA ROUNDUP: THUNDER TOP MAGIC IN BATTLE.OF 2022 DRAFT TALENT

 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points to lead the host Oklahoma City Thunder to a 112-100 win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.

The game marked the first regular-season matchup between the Magic's Paolo Banchero and the Thunder's Chet Holmgren, the top two picks in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Banchero finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 draft who missed last season due to a foot injury, had 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Orlando cut what was a 16-point deficit to six on Cole Anthony's pullup jumper with 2:14 left in the game. Jalen Williams answered with a jumper on the next possession, sparking a 7-0 run for Oklahoma City, which has won four consecutive games and nine of its past 11.

Celtics 145, Rockets 113

Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 32 points and Jayson Tatum finished with 27 to help Boston defeat visiting Houston.

Brown made 11 of his 15 field-goal attempts and was 4-for-6 from 3-point territory. Tatum also had eight rebounds and five assists before he was ejected after his second technical foul with 10:17 to play. The Celtics improved to 19-0 at home.

Cam Whitmore came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points for Houston. Alperen Sengun finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds.