NBA: Thunder use 3rd-quarter surge to topple Nets

FILE – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder dribbles against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at United Center on January 13, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. Michael Reaves/Getty Images/AFP

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points to lead the host Oklahoma City Thunder to a 121-107 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday.

But it wasn’t just Gilgeous-Alexander who came up big for the Thunder, as Josh Giddey recorded his eighth career triple-double and his fourth of the season with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.

Luguentz Dort finished with 24 points, hitting a season-high six 3-pointers for Oklahoma City, while rookie Jalen Williams added 23 points and 10 rebounds.

The group effort helped the Thunder pick up their third straight win and their sixth in the last seven games.

The loss was just the Nets’ second in their last seven games and snapped a two-game winning streak.

It was Dort that played the biggest role in the third quarter, when the Thunder seized control after trailing by 10 at halftime.

Less than 20 seconds into the quarter, Dort hit the first of what wound up being five third-quarter 3-pointers.

The Thunder still trailed by eight with seven minutes remaining in the third before closing the quarter with a 25-9 run to lead by eight heading into the fourth.

All of Brooklyn’s points during that stretch came at the free-throw line, as the Nets missed their last eight field-goal attempts in the period.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 11 points in the third and Giddey had six assists and five rebounds as Oklahoma City outscored Brooklyn 38-20 in the quarter.

Mikal Bridges led Brooklyn with 34 points while Cameron Johnson added 23 for the game.

Oklahoma City outscored the Nets 66-38 in the paint. The Thunder also scored 23 points off 17 Brooklyn turnovers.

Bridges’ pull-up jumper with just under seven minutes left in the fourth cut the Nets’ deficit to five, 102-97.

But moments later, Giddey answered with a turnaround jumper to kickstart a 15-5 run that put the game away for good.

The Nets led by as many as 12 early, with Johnson scoring 10 of his points in Brooklyn’s 33-point first quarter.

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