TORONTO, Dec 30 — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander matched his career best with 32 points — including the go-ahead jumper with 36 seconds remaining — as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder posted a 98-97 win over the Toronto Raptors yesterday.
Chris Paul scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half as the Thunder won their fifth straight game in Toronto and sixth in their last seven contests overall. Paul added 11 rebounds and eight assists in the victory.
Nerlens Noel added 13 points and Darius Bazley scored 12 for Oklahoma City.
Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet each scored 20 points for the Raptors. Patrick McCaw added 13 points, Serge Ibaka had 12 and 14 rebounds while Terence Davis II had 11 points.
The Raptors took a four-point advantage into the fourth quarter, but the Thunder led by three points on Paul’s jumper with 9:04 left.
Lowry picked up his fifth personal foul with 7:46 to play in the fourth. Noel made two free throws to stretch the Thunder lead to five points.
Lowry’s three free throws with 6:43 left tied the game. Paul’s layup put Oklahoma City back up by two with 4:52 remaining.
Ibaka’s putback dunk gave the Raptors a one-point lead. After Ibaka’s offensive foul, Paul made a jumper with 1:01 to play and the Thunder led by one.
VanVleet’s two free throws put Toronto up by one with 54.2 seconds to go. The Thunder took a one-point lead but Toronto-born Gilgeous-Alexander decided the outcome with a short jumper.
Paul beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer to give the Thunder a 22-20 lead after the first quarter.
The Raptors opened a six-point lead after six minutes of the second quarter. After the Thunder cut into their deficit, VanVleet’s 3-pointer increased the lead to eight with 3:44 left in the half.
The Thunder responded with an 11-0 run, capped by Gilgeous-Alexander’s 3-pointer to lead by three points with 1:26 remaining. The game was tied at 47 at halftime.
Paul scored five straight points and the Thunder led by eight with 9:35 left in the third quarter. Toronto took a two-point lead on Chris Boucher’s 3-pointer. Toronto led 80-76 after three quarters. — Reuters
