Thunder beat Bulls, former coach Billy Donovan
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and dropped 10 assists to help host Oklahoma City beat the Chicago Bulls and former Thunder coach Billy Donovan 127-125 in overtime Friday night.
Oklahoma City (6-6) rallied from 22 points down in the second half. Zach LaVine, who led the Bulls (4-8) with 35 points, could have won it in overtime but he missed a deep, off-balance 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
Donovan knew all too well how good Oklahoma City can be under challenging circumstances. His Thunder team made a habit of rallying and winning close games last season on the way to a playoff berth.
“Those guys are great competitors when they’re down,” Donovan said. “I knew even being up 18 at the half that they were going to fight their way through and have some kind of momentum push there.”
Lu Dort scored 21 for the Thunder, who claimed their first home win in six tries this season.
Celtics 124, Magic 97: Jaylen Brown had 21 points and eight assists and host Boston rolled past Orlando in its return to action following a virus-related week-long hiatus. Jeff Teague added 17 points to help Boston post its fifth-straight victory.
Bucks 112, Mavericks 109: Khris Middleton made a couple of huge 3-pointers and host Milwaukee overcame poor free-throw shooting to snap Dallas’ four-game winning streak. The Bucks were 12-for-25 from the foul line but managed to win their fourth in a row.
Cavaliers 106, Knicks 103: Andre Drummond had 33 points and grabbed 23 rebounds in leading Cleveland to a home win over New York. Drummond posted the Cavaliers’ first 30-20 game since Carlos Boozer had 32 points and 20 rebounds against Seattle on Jan. 20, 2004.
Jazz 116, Hawks 92: Donovan Mitchell made six 3-pointers on his way to...