Achi news desk-
TORONTO – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander grew up watching “NBA legends” at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena. It can be argued that he is on his way to becoming one himself.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points with eight assists and seven rebounds as the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled past the hurt Toronto Raptors 123-103 on Friday.
“I grew up coming to games here, watching Chris Bosh and a bunch of NBA legends play in this building,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s always a surreal moment.
“Having my friends and family in the crowd is even more special.”
Gilgeous-Alexander entered the game averaging 30.9 points, 6.4 assists, and 5.6 rebounds per game for Oklahoma City (48-20). He is shooting 54.4 percent on his field goal attempts – making him the most accurate guard in the NBA – and his two steals per game are the most in the league.
He was officially awarded the North Star Award as Canada’s best athlete in 2023 on Friday morning. A panel of sports media from around the country selected Gilgeous-Alexander as the winner of the award in December but he was not able to receive the trophy until the Thunder’s only trip north of the border this season.
Chet Holmgren had a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards as Oklahoma City (49-20) won its fourth straight. Jalen Williams added 20 points and Montreal’s Lu Dort scored 10.
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Rookie Gradey Dick led Toronto (23-47) with 21 points. Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, BC, had 16 points, six rebounds and five assists as the Raptors dropped their ninth straight game.
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Toronto allowed a season high of 27 turnovers and 37 points off turnovers.
“We want to win games, that’s the No. 1 priority,” Dick said. “But with me being a rookie and the new guy I’m grateful to be out there competing every night and just trying my best to try and put us in a position to win and do my part.”
Gary Trent Jr. was ruled out of Toronto’s lineup before the game with lower back stiffness. His absence added to a long list of inactive Raptors players, including Toronto’s entire starting lineup.
The Raptors were already missing forward Scottie Barnes (fractured left hand), center Jakob Poeltl (torn left ligament), forward RJ Barrett (personal reasons), point guard Immanuel Quickley (personal reasons), forward Chris Boucher (torn Partial MCL ), and guard DJ Carton (sprained right ankle).
“In my 26, 27 years of coaching, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic said of his team’s slew of injuries. “I don’t think I saw it on other teams either.”
Although it seemed like a mismatch on paper, Dick scored eight points in the first six minutes of the game to lead by 11 points. Toronto closed the opening period on a 6-2 run to hold a 35-28 lead.
Dick scored 13 points in the quarter, a career high in his first NBA season.
The Thunder fired back with a 15-2 run to open the second and take the lead. The visitors outscored Toronto 35-21 in the second quarter with Williams getting eight to help Oklahoma City take a 63-56 advantage into the break.
Dick drained a deep 25-foot three-pointer just 40 seconds into the fourth to the delight of the 19,601 fans at Scotiabank Arena and cut the Thunder’s lead to 10. It started a 10-3 run that pushed OKC to just six. point advantage.
Williams helped Oklahoma City re-extend its lead, scoring six in the quarter as the Thunder held on for the win.
NO COMMITMENT, NO COMMENT – Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort and Olynyk are all part of the core of 14 players who committed to represent Canada internationally, first at the FIBA ​​men’s World Cup and then again this summer at Paris Olympics. Several Canadian NBAers, including Denver guard Jamal Murray, Indiana guard Andrew Nembhard and Golden State forward Andrew Wiggins, did not sign on to play for Canada. Gilgeous-Alexander offered no comment when asked if he would like those players to come to the Olympics.
“I would stay out of it,” Gilgeous-Alexander laughed. “We’ll leave (Team Canada general manager Rowan Barrett) — he’s very good at his job — we’ll let him do his job.”
UP NEXT – The Raptors travel to Washington, DC, to face the Wizards (12-58) on Saturday.
Oklahoma City visits the Milwaukee Bucks (45-25) on Sunday.
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on March 22, 2024.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
