Gilgeous-Alexander drops 51-point bomb as Thunder top Rockets for 50th win

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 51 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Houston Rockets, 137-128, on Monday night, March 3, for their 50th win of the season.

Gilgeous-Alexander reached 50 points for the fourth time this season, all in the past seven weeks. The NBA’s scoring leader finished with at least 40 for the ninth time in 2024-25. He made 18 of 30 field goals, went 5 of 9 on 3-pointers and hit all 10 of his free throws.

Jalen Williams added 24 points for the Thunder (50-11).

Cam Whitmore matched career highs with 27 points and 11 rebounds, and Reed Sheppard added a career-best 25 points for the Rockets.

Houston was without injured Alperen Sengun (lower back soreness), Amen Thompson (right shoulder), Dillon Brooks (bruised right knee), Fred VanVleet (strained right ankle) and Tari Eason (lower left leg).

Houston’s largest lead was nine points early in the second quarter, but the Thunder rallied to lead 63-62 at halftime behind 28 points from Gilgeous-Alexander.

Oklahoma City took charge in the third. Gilgeous-Alexander was up to 45 points by the end of the period, and the Thunder led 102-89 heading into the fourth.

Houston made a final push, closing the gap to six before the Thunder regained control. Lu Dort made back-to-back 3-pointers 29 seconds apart, extending Oklahoma City’s lead to 120-106.

Gilgeous-Alexander reached 50 points on a putback with just under three minutes left to give Oklahoma City a 132-120 advantage.

Meanwhile, Stephen Curry had 21 points and 10 assists in his annual homecoming game, and the Golden State Warriors pulled away in the second half to defeat the Charlotte Hornets, 119-101, for their sixth win in seven games.

Curry, who was raised in Charlotte and played at nearby Davidson College, finished 6 of 14 from the field and made three 3-pointers.

The Hornets appeared determined not to let Curry beat them in the first half and repeatedly blitzed the 11-time All-Star with double-teams. Curry responded by finding open teammates for easy buckets and had nine assists at halftime.

Buddy Hield scored 22 points and Brandin Podziemski added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, who were coming off a 126-119 loss at Philadelphia on Saturday.

Draymond Green had 16 points and 13 rebounds.

The struggles continued for the Hornets, who’ve lost 10 of 11 and seven straight. Miles Bridges led Charlotte with 35 points, and LaMelo Ball added 25 points and nine rebounds.

Earlier, Zach LaVine scored 22 points and DeMar DeRozan added 20, each sitting out the fourth quarter, as the Sacramento Kings beat Dallas, 122-98, with the Mavericks losing Kyrie Irving late in the first quarter to a left knee sprain.

The Kings have won four consecutive games while the Mavericks have dropped two straight and four of five.

In another game, Bam Adebayo had 19 points and 15 rebounds to break Miami’s franchise record for double-doubles, and the Heat cruised to a 106-90 victory over the NBA-worst Washington Wizards.

Adebayo, in his eighth season with Miami, reached the milestone with a rebound late in the second quarter. He has 222 double-doubles, one more than Rony Seikaly had in six seasons from 1988-94.

In Memphis, Caris LeVert made a layup as time expired, finishing with 25 points as the Atlanta Hawks rallied to beat the Grizzlies, 132-130.

Desmond Bane had has first career triple-double for Memphis, but Dyson Daniels stole the ball from him with 3.8 seconds remaining. LeVert got the ball and streaked down the floor for a layup that beat the horn, confirmed after an officials’ review.