Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points, setting the NBA record for consecutive games with 20-plus points while lifting the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 104-102 home win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday.
The reigning MVP put up at least 20 points for the 127th consecutive time, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain’s 63-year-old NBA record.
The Celtics and Jaylen Brown didn’t make it easy for the Thunder, though.
Boston was playing short-handed. Jayson Tatum missed the game due to injury management after recently returning from a 10-month absence caused by an Achilles tear, and Derrick White sat out because of a right knee contusion.
Brown helped keep the Celtics afloat all season with Tatum out, and he did it again Thursday, logging 34 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
In the final minute, both teams’ MVP candidates came up big, but then it was the Thunder’s Chet Holmgren who finished the game.
Gilgeous-Alexander gave Oklahoma City the lead on a pull-up jumper with 29.6 seconds remaining. Brown tied it 102-102 with a turnaround fadeaway moments later.
Gilgeous-Alexander found Alex Caruso for a corner 3-point attempt, but Caruso’s shot missed the mark.
Holmgren grabbed the rebound and tried to go right back up with it but was fouled by Sam Hauser.
Holmgren made both free throws with 0.8 seconds left, and Payton Pritchard’s long 3-point try at the buzzer came up short to give Oklahoma City the win.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 14 in the fourth quarter and finished with nine assists, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
The Thunder extended their winning streak to seven. The Celtics have dropped back-to-back games after a 5-1 stretch.
Gilgeous-Alexander entered the second half with 17 points. It took more than four minutes into the third quarter for him to gain on the record, with a pair of free throws moving him within one point of the mark.
On Oklahoma City’s next possession, Gilgeous-Alexander picked up his dribble just inside the arc, guarded by Baylor Scheierman. As Scheierman reacted, Gilgeous-Alexander moved the ball from side to side before pulling up and draining a 20-foot jumper to tie the game, set the record and get a hearty cheer from the home crowd.
