NBA: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder pull away vs Hawks

Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela, left, tries to get to a rebound before Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, middle, and forward Chet Holmgren, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 35 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Atlanta Hawks 128-104 on Sunday night in a matchup of teams that had won their first two games.

Gilgeous-Alexander fell just short of what would have been his third career triple-double.

Chet Holmgren had 25 points, nine rebounds and six blocks and Jalen Williams added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder.

READ: NBA: Thunder cruise past Nikola Jokic, Nuggets

SGA did EVERYTHING in the @okcthunder's 3rd win of the year:

⛈️ 35 PTS
⛈️ 11 REB
⛈️ 9 AST
⛈️ 3 STL
⛈️ 3 BLK
⛈️ 3 3PM
⛈️ 10-11 FTM

He is the first player in franchise history to record 35+ PTS, 10+ REB, 3+ STL and 3+ BLK in a game! pic.twitter.com/VdH03bxYeU

— NBA (@NBA) October 28, 2024

Oklahoma City outscored Atlanta 39-18 in the fourth quarter. The Thunder made 14 of 23 field goals in the final period while Atlanta made 6 of 20.

Trae Young had 24 points and eight assists for the Hawks. He only attempted 14 shots while being harassed by Oklahoma City’s guards. He had at least 30 points and 10 assists in each of his first two games.

Zaccharie Risacher, the French forward who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, had 13 points and six rebounds in 27 minutes for Atlanta

Takeaways

Hawks: Young’s teammates couldn’t get going either. Atlanta’s No. 2 scorer behind Young was Garrison Mathews with 14 points.

Thunder: Oklahoma City never lost confidence. The Thunder trailed 58-50 with 55 seconds left in the first half before scoring the final seven points of the second quarter, including a putback by Williams at the buzzer to trim the deficit to 58-57 at the break.

READ: NBA: Young Thunder brimming with optimism after playoff exit

Key moment

Atlanta led 92-91 in the fourth quarter before Oklahoma City went on a 13-0 run, including six points from Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder held the Hawks scoreless for more than three minutes during that stretch to take control for good.

Key stat

Oklahoma City was 28 for 49 inside the 3-point line. Once the Thunder established themselves attacking the basket, they started knocking down 3s.

Up next

The Hawks host Washington on Monday and the Thunder host San Antonio on Wednesday.