NBA highlights on Nov. 18: SGA dominates Warriors in overtime

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Golden State Warriors 130-123 in overtime (OT) at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, on Saturday, giving the opponents their sixth straight loss.

Stephen Curry returned for the Warriors after missing two games, but his knee injury was obviously still bothering him. He drained five triples out of 11 attempts, but shot 1-for-8 in the paint. His back-court partner Klay Thompson continued to struggle with both his shooting touch and his attitude of playing, missing eight of his 13 field goals (FGs), most of which were contested shots. Chris Paul made four of his seven shots from downtown and delivered 11 assists, doing everything he could as a 38-year-old veteran.

Andrew Wiggins was the best-performing Warrior on Saturday night as he went 12-for-19 to drop season-high 31 points. He was 4-for-4, all behind the arc, in the fourth quarter. When he made his final shot to place his side on a three-point lead (127-124), there were only 1.6 seconds left.

Chet Holmgren blew both the lead and the Warriors’ hope to end their losing streak by draining a 3-pointer from the left wing. That was the only triple he shot in the final period and he made it right over Wiggins’ head. He got 35 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks during the regular time. Holmgren and Wiggins both contributed the main offensive production for their teams in the first 48 minutes of Saturday’s game.

However, the competition in OT was a different story. Wiggins missed all four his FG attempts; Holmgren missed one jumper and one free throw; Curry and Paul both made a 3-pointer to get all of the six points for the Warriors; all of them were outshined by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA).

SGA shot 5-for-6 from the floor during OT. He only missed his first attempt from way downtown. After that, he made five shots in a row, in front of four different defenders, not to mention that he blocked a triple by Curry. Having got 10 of his 40 points in OT, SGA picked the Warriors nearly by himself in five minutes.

Other games on Saturday (away teams come first):

Minnesota Timberwolves 121-120 New Orleans Pelicans

Missing Zion Williamson didn’t seem to weaken the Pelicans’ strength against the Timberwolves. Jonas Valanciunas dominated the paint at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana by going 10-for-15 from the field to get 26 points and 11 rebounds. He and Brandon Ingram, who had 30 points, seven rebounds and four assists, enabled their side to lead by as many as 15 points (43-28) in the game.

Nonetheless, the Timberwolves came back in the fourth quarter during which Karl-Anthony Towns got 12 points and five assists. Not only did he distract the opponents’ concentrated defensive attention to him to set up multiple open shots for his teammates, Towns also made the game-winning floater in the final 10 seconds by breaking through the free throw line from the 3-point line.

Miami Heat 97-102 Chicago Bulls

The Bulls went through probably one of the worst game starts this season at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, as they scored no more than one point in over seven minutes in the first quarter against the Heat and trailed 22-1.

However, the home team’s fortunes improved considerably in the fourth period during which they knocked down seven 3-pointers and forced five turnovers by the opponents. DeMar DeRozan added 12 points for the Bulls in this quarter alone, leading them to outscore the Heat 34-21 to end their three-game losing streak.

Dallas Mavericks 125-132 Milwaukee Bucks

Both the Bucks and the Mavericks relied on their star duos on the offensive end. On the Mavericks’ side, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving had better coordination and individual attacks. They combined to drop 74 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists. By contrast, the Bucks still haven’t built much chemistry between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. They were taking turns to attack separately on most possessions.

However, the Bucks won in the end at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, because the Mavericks’ defense was as fragile as dandelion. Antetokounmpo didn’t miss even a single of his 14 FG attempts in the restricted area. In the decisive fourth quarter, he went 6-for-6 from the floor to get 15 points, joining hands with Lillard who had 10 points to lead their side to outscore the opponents 43-27 in this period.

New York Knicks 122-108 Charlotte Hornets

Memphis Grizzlies 120-108 San Antonio Spurs