Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 40 as Thunder send Warriors to 6th straight loss, 130-123 in OT

By SONJA CHEN Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with fewer than two seconds remaining in regulation, it seemed to be the difference that the Warriors had been searching for all game long.

Instead, the Thunder forced overtime with a frenzied sequence. As the final 1.6 seconds ticked down, Oklahoma City rookie Chet Holmgren grabbed the inbound pass and knocked down a game-tying shot from deep to beat the final buzzer.

“It felt like a movie in the moment,” Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points, six rebounds, and six assists, and the Thunder sent the Warriors to their sixth straight loss with a 130-123 overtime victory on Saturday night.

The Thunder outscored the Warriors 13-6 in the extra period to seal back-to-back wins at Chase Center and secure the season series, 2-1.

Holmgren scored a season-high 36 points and added 10 rebounds and five assists, and Jaylin Williams had 22 points and six rebounds.

Isaiah Joe’s streak of consecutive made 3-pointers that began with his 7-for-7 showing on Thursday ended at eight in a row with a buzzer-beater to close out the first quarter. He finished the night with 10 points.

The Warriors dominated through the first half and seemed on the verge of putting the game away midway through the third, when they led by 18 points. But the Thunder stepped up on defense and went on a 22-6 run to cut the deficit to two points entering the fourth.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the charge by scoring 32 points after the first half, including 10 in overtime.

“When one of your best offense players is one of your best defense players, it’s huge,” Holmgren said. “He really ignites us on both ends with his energy.”

Wiggins scored a season-high 31 points and was 12 of 19 with five 3s. Curry also knocked down five 3s and had 25 points as the Warriors fell to 1-6 on their home floor. It was the first time this season that Curry has appeared in a game and not led Golden State in scoring.

“I have been putting in the work,” said Wiggins, who entered the day shooting 40.1% this season — nearly 50 points below his career average. “I have been getting shots up, working hard and just trying to do the little things on the court, knowing that eventually it will fall.”

Even with Curry’s return, the Warriors were again short-handed, missing Draymond Green (five-game suspension) and Gary Payton II (left foot strain). Payton is not expected to miss significant time after an MRI revealed no structural damage, and Green isn’t eligible to return until November 28th at Sacramento.

“We still had a hard time with them in the second half,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said, ”They’re a handful, and one of the things I admire about their team is that the whole is better than the sum of their parts. … As a team that’s building and growing, we want to be that type of team.”

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The Thunder visit the Trailblazers on Sunday night.