Alexander scored 27 points to help the host Oklahoma City Thunder rally from 26 down to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-115 on Wednesday night.
The comeback matched the largest in Thunder history and helped the team claim its first win of the season despite several late miscues.
Up three in the final minute, Oklahoma City had a timeout remaining but didn’t use it, and Gilgeous-Alexander couldn’t get the ball across halfcourt in time, giving the ball back to Los Angeles with 16.8 seconds remaining. Malik Monk then missed a 3-pointer, the Thunder gave up the ball again, and Carmelo Anthony missed another.
Russell Westbrook, making his first appearance for the Lakers in the city where he spent his first 11 NBA seasons, was ejected in the closing seconds after being called for his second technical foul of the game. Westbrook was upset after Darius Bazley’s steal and dunk in the last five seconds.
Kings 110, Suns 107
Harrison Barnes buried a tiebreaking 3-pointer at the final horn, allowing Sacramento, after blowing a late 13-point lead, to escape with a dramatic victory at Phoenix.
Buddy Hield came off the bench to score a team-high 26 points, Barnes finished with 22 and De’Aaron Fox chipped in with 18 for the Kings, who opened a four-game trip by snapping a two-game losing streak.
Devin Booker paced the Suns with a game-high 31 points while DeAndre Ayton had 21 to go with a game-high 21 rebounds, but the Suns never went ahead after losing the lead for good late in the third quarter.
Hawks 102, Pelicans 99
Trae Young scored 31 points and John Collins added a double-double as visiting Atlanta held off New Orleans.
Collins finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, including a tiebreaking putback in the final minute. Atlanta’s De’Andre Hunter scored 13, and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 12.
Devonte’ Graham scored 21 points, Brandon Ingram had 20 points and eight assists and Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Pelicans.
Trail Blazers 116, Grizzlies 96
CJ McCollum recorded 25 points and six rebounds and Damian Lillard added 20 points and 10 assists to help Portland post a victory over visiting Memphis.
Jusuf Nurkic added 17 points, eight rebounds and three steals and Anfernee Simons scored 17 points off the bench for the Trail Blazers. Portland committed 14 turnovers after giving the ball up 30 times in Monday’s 116-86 road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Desmond Bane scored 19 points for the Grizzlies on Wednesday before leaving with a cut over his eye late in the third quarter. Ja Morant had 17 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for Memphis, which dropped to 1-2 on a four-game Western road swing that ends Thursday against the Golden State Warriors.
Raptors 118, Pacers 100
Fred VanVleet scored 26 points and grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds and Toronto defeated visiting Indiana.
OG Anunoby added 25 points with five steals and Scottie Barnes had 18 points, seven assists and seven rebounds for the Raptors, who won for the second time in five games this season and for the first time in four home games.
Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon, who had 18 points, left the game early in the third quarter with a sore left hamstring and did not return. Chris Duarte scored 14 points for the Pacers, who have lost four of five games.
Cavaliers 92, Clippers 79
Collin Sexton scored 26 points, Evan Mobley recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds in his return to Los Angeles and Cleveland led the Clippers nearly wire-to-wire.
Cleveland never trailed en route to its third consecutive win and second on a five-game road swing, and the score was tied only once. A Sexton free throw inside the first three minutes gave the Cavaliers a 3-2 lead, and they were on top the rest of the way.
Cleveland locked up Los Angeles defensively, holding the Clippers to just 35.6 percent shooting from the floor and 22 percent (9 of 41) from behind the 3-point arc. The Cavaliers struggled from long range as well, going 3 of 20 (15 percent).
Timberwolves 113, Bucks 108
D’Angelo Russell scored a team-high 29 points and had six assists as Minnesota held on for a win at Milwaukee.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards finished with 25 points apiece for the Timberwolves, who won their first road game of the season. Jarred Vanderbilt posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds in his first start of the season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 40 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists for the Bucks. Khris Middleton added 16 points and Grayson Allen had 13.
Heat 106, Nets 93
Bam Adebayo totaled 24 points and nine rebounds as visiting Miami dominated inside against Brooklyn.
Jimmy Butler added 17 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and four steals. P.J. Tucker added 15 points and seven boards as the Heat survived shooting 39.6 percent.
Kevin Durant led all scorers with 25 points, but the Nets shot just 38.8 percent and scored two baskets in the final 4:33. The Nets lost for the third time in five games this season, and each loss has been by double digits.
Wizards 116, Celtics 107
Montrezl Harrell tallied 25 points and 11 rebounds, Spencer Dinwiddie added 22 points and Washington held off host Boston.
Dinwiddie’s layup with 48.8 seconds to go made it 112-107 and he sealed the game with four free throws in the final 27.1. Beal had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Kyle Kuzma scored 12 with eight boards and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 11 for Washington, which has won three of four to open the season.
Jayson Tatum had 23 points and seven rebounds and Schroder scored 22 with six assists to lead the Celtics, who fell to 0-2 at home.
Hornets 120, Magic 111
Miles Bridges scored 31 points, Jalen McDaniels and Cody Martin combined for 28 points off the bench, and Charlotte returned to the win column vs. host Orlando.
Bridges went 11-for-21 from the floor, knocking down five 3-pointers, as the Southeast Division-leading Hornets rebounded from an overtime loss to Boston two days earlier. Bridges hit 20 points for a fourth straight game, marking the longest such streak of his career. Gordon Hayward contributed 24 points, five rebounds and five assists, helping Charlotte improve to 3-0 on the road this season.
Orlando, which fell to 0-2 at Amway Center this season, had five players score in double figures, led by Cole Anthony’s 24 points. Wendell Carter Jr. contributed 20 points and 10 rebounds and Terrence Ross came off the bench to score 18 points.
–Field Level Media
