Washington (AFP) – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren sparked unbeaten Oklahoma City to a 117-100 victory in Atlanta on Saturday, lifting the reigning NBA champion Thunder to 3-0 on the season. Holmgren scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player and scoring champion, contributed 30 points, five assists, and four rebounds for Oklahoma City.
“There’s still room for us to be better,” Holmgren said. “We can go out there and get it done and that’s what we did.” Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 55 and 35 points in the first two wins, has shown growth beyond his scoring skills, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “He’s in character right now,” he said of Gilgeous-Alexander. “It’s a credit to the work he does. He doesn’t ease his way into the season. He’s ready to go on night one and for all 82 (games). He’s really starting to manipulate the game as a playmaker. The scoring has been loud but some of the passes he has made and the reads he has made against the different coverages he has seen in these first few games have been really good.”
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The blowout was welcome for the Thunder, who became the first NBA team to begin a season with two double overtime games in beating Houston and Indiana earlier this week. “It was a good overall win,” said Daigneault. “We got contributions up and down (the roster). It was impressive. We’re on a road trip, coming off those games. I thought our energy was really good — encouraging.” The Hawks, who had 15 points and 10 assists from Trae Young, fell to 1-2 after an opening loss to Toronto and a triumph at Orlando. Oklahoma City tightened a grip on the contest after a so-so first half.
“We drummed it up pretty good,” Daigneault said. “The first half we were loose with transition and game plan. I thought the guys did a great job of adjusting at halftime and the energy throughout the night was good.”
At Philadelphia, Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points, passed off nine assists, and grabbed six rebounds to lead the host 76ers (2-0) over Charlotte 125-121. Joel Embiid added 20 points for the Sixers while LaMelo Ball led Charlotte with 27 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. Quentin Grimes sank a three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining to give the 76ers a 122-119 lead, and Andre Drummond rebounded a Hornets miss and added a free throw with 9.4 seconds remaining. Ryan Kalkbrenner’s tip-in with 1.7 seconds remaining but Maxey’s two free throws with 1.1 second to play sealed Philadelphia’s win. The Hornets have lost 11 meetings in a row to the 76ers since December 2022.
– Bulls start 2-0 – Chicago’s Josh Giddey scored 21 points and added eight rebounds to lead the Bulls’ 110-98 victory at Orlando, the visitors rising to 2-0 in the young season. Paolo Banchero had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic.
At Memphis, Cedric Coward went 6-for-6 from three-point range and scored a game-high 27 points off the bench to lead the host Grizzlies over Indiana 128-103. At Denver, Jamal Murray scored 23 points and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had a triple double with 14 points, 14 rebounds, and 15 assists for the Nuggets (1-1) in a 133-111 victory over Phoenix.
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