NBA: Thunder Moves Past Cup Disappointment and Eastern Conference Leader's Defeat

Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) - Oklahoma City Thunder, the defending champions, put behind them the disappointment of their exit from the Cup semifinals and achieved their twenty-fifth win in 27 games by defeating the visiting Los Angeles Clippers 122-101 on Thursday in the NBA.

The Thunder entered the game following only their second loss of the season, which came at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday in the NBA Cup semifinals, ending their personal record streak at 16 consecutive wins.

However, thanks to 32 points scored in three quarters by their Canadian star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they regained their balance on Thursday and secured their thirteenth home victory out of 13 games so far.

Gilgeous-Alexander succeeded in making 13 of his 24 attempts and added 7 rebounds with 6 assists before resting in the final quarter.

The Canadian star reached 20 points or more for the 98th consecutive game, the second-longest streak of its kind in league history.

Chet Holmgren contributed 22 points and Jalen Williams 20.

James Harden, who leads the Clippers' scoring this season with 26 points per game, missed the match against his former team due to a left calf injury.

Without their playmaker, the Clippers lost the ball 28 times, resulting in 39 points for the Thunder, who in contrast lost the ball only nine times.

Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points and John Collins added 20 for the Clippers, who lost their fifth consecutive game and 10 of their last 11.

The Clippers led for most of the first quarter and the beginning of the second before the Thunder regained their rhythm.

Holmgren scored 18 points after making 7 of his first 10 attempts in the first half, helping the Thunder lead 64-55 by the end of it.

The Thunder dominated the game from the third quarter, during which Gilgeous-Alexander scored 19 points, giving his team a 103-83 lead before the final quarter began.

The defending champions succeeded in making 55.6 percent of their attempts during the third quarter, outscoring their guests 39-28, paving the way for their victory even with Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench during the last quarter (19-18).

The Detroit Pistons, leaders of the Eastern Conference, fell to the visiting Dallas Mavericks and suffered only their sixth loss of the season after losing 114-116 in overtime.

The Mavericks owe their eleventh win this season to Cooper Flagg and Anthony Davis, with the former scoring 23 points and 10 rebounds and the latter 15 points, in a game where their team squandered an 18-point lead in the third quarter but ultimately secured their sixth win in the last eight games.

Slovenian Luka Dončić excelled with a triple-double, scoring 45 points with 11 rebounds and 14 assists, leading his team, the Los Angeles Lakers, to a 143-135 victory over the Utah Jazz.

The Denver Nuggets achieved their twentieth win in 26 games by defeating the Orlando Magic 126-115, thanks to a triple-double from their Serbian star Nikola Jokić (23 points with 11 rebounds and 13 assists).