The OKC Thunder survived an emphatic comeback attempt by the Dallas Mavericks, while the San Antonio Spurs went 4-0 for the first time since 2017.
The Oklahoma City Thunder held off a comeback try from the Dallas Mavericks as they held on for the victory, 101-94, to keep their record perfect at the American Airlines Center on Monday night (Tuesday, Manila time).
Isaiah Hartenstein bailed out OKC with a layup that pushed the Thunder’s lead to three, 97-94, with 34 ticks remaining. The defending champions led by as much as 22 points before Dallas’ barrage in the fourth quarter.
Forced to play the foul game, Dallas sent reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to the foul stripe to seal the victory for the champions. Chet Holmgren tacked on two more freebies with three ticks left to reach the final score.
Holmgren finished with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds to coincide with a big game from Hartenstein as well (16 points, 12 rebounds). Gilgeous-Alexander was the top scorer with 23 points in the gutsy victory.
Elsewhere, the San Antonio Spurs continued to roll thanks to the towering performances of Victor Wembanyama.
They cruised to victory over the Toronto Raptors, 121-103, at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.
In the wire-to-wire victory, San Antonio led by as many as 22 points to send Toronto reeling to their third straight defeat.
Wembanyama finished with 24 points on 7-of-8 shooting along with 15 rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block in the victory that gave the Spurs its first 4-0 start since October 2017 — signaling a resurgence for the squad.
RJ Barett paced Toronto in the loss with 25 points.
Rockets ride team win over Nets
In the other games, the Houston Rockets eked out an all-around team win over the Brooklyn Nets, 137-109, at the Toyota Center in Texas.
Seven different Rockets players finished in double digit scoring led by the 22 points of Tari Eason. Alperen Sengun added 21 markers, six rebounds, six assists, and a steal while Kevin Durant chipped in 19 points of his own.
Houston surged forward from the get go after a 42-point first quarter where they nabbed a 17-point lead at the end of the first period.
They then blew the game wide open by the third when they outscored the Nets, 32-17.
Terance Mann paced the Nets in the losing effort with 21 points.
Donovan Mitchell’s 35 points powered the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Detroit Pistons in another game, 116-95, to help his team improve to 3-1.
For his part, Nikola Vucevic flirted with the triple-double of 17 points, 17 rebounds, and nine assists en route to a 128-123 victory for the still undefeated Chicago Bulls against the Atlanta Hawks who are 1-3 for the year.
Trae Young had 21 points and 17 dimes in the losing effort.
The Boston Celtics, meanwhile, drubbed the listless New Orleans Pelicans in a 32-point victory, 122-90, with Anfernee Simons pacing the win with 25 points.
—
Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.