By ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON (AP) — Jalen Green had 34 points, Alperen Sengun added 31 and the Houston Rockets snapped the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 11-game winning streak with a 125-111 victory Friday night, April 4.
Houston, which is second in the Western Conference, improved to 2-3 against the top-seeded Thunder with the win. Oklahoma City lost for the first time since March 10.
The Rockets led by 23 in the first half but the Thunder got within nine on a shot by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with about 7 ½ minutes to go. Green scored five points in a 7-2 run to make it 113-99 midway through the quarter and Oklahoma City didn’t get within single digits again.
Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 33 points and Gilgeous-Alexander had 22 to reach 20 points for the 70th straight game, moving past Michael Jordan for the fourth-longest single-season streak in NBA history.
The Rockets were up by 12 in the third when they used a 10-2 spurt to extend the lead to 93-73 with 3 minutes left in the quarter. But Gilgeous-Alexander scored eight points in a 12-3 run to end the quarter and cut the lead to 96-85 entering the fourth.
Thunder: Chet Holmgren, who had 20 points, made a career-high six 3-pointers after going 1 of 11 combined from long range in his last three games.
Rockets: Houston got the win despite missing perhaps its best defender with Dillon Brooks serving a one-game suspension after receiving his 16th technical foul Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, Stephen Curry scored 36 points and the Golden State Warriors beat the Denver Nuggets, 118-104, for their fifth straight win.
Brandin Podziemski added 26 and Jimmy Butler III had 19 for the Warriors. They pulled within a half-game of the Nuggets, who began play third in the Western Conference.
The Warriors built a double-digit lead in the third quarter and maintained it the rest of the way. A 3-pointer by Curry midway through the quarter gave Golden State a 15-point lead, and he also completed a three-point play with under three minutes to play to keep the lead at 15.
Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 33 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, after finishing with 61 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the last game he played.
Curry had 19 points at halftime as Golden State led 66-60.
The Nuggets were without Jamal Murray (hamstring), but the rest of the starters returned after sitting out Wednesday night’s loss to the Spurs.
In Los Angeles, Luka Doncic had 35 points, Austin Reaves added 30 and LeBron James had 27 in the Lakers’ 124-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Doncic struggled in a 123-116 loss to Golden State a night earlier, finishing with 19 points on and being exploited several times on the defensive end, but he responded to help the Lakers maintain their grip on third place in the Western Conference ahead of Denver and the Warriors. The Lakers have won three of four.
Jose Alvarado led the Pelicans with 27 points, and Karlo Matkovic had 15. New Orleans dropped its fourth straight on the road.
In Inglewood, Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points, Ivica Zubac had 14 points and 13 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers routed the Dallas Mavericks, 114-91, for their third straight victory.
The teams will meet again Saturday in Inglewood.
Norman Powell added 14 points, James Harden had 13 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic and Devin Eubanks each scored 12 points. Los Angeles led by 25 points midway through the second quarter and pushed its lead to 35 points in the fourth before emptying its bench.
In San Antonio, Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, Evan Mobley added 25 points and 10 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers held on to beat the Spurs, 114-113, to move a game away from clinching the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland never trailed and led by 23 points in winning its third straight. The Cavaliers have won six of seven and are a win or a Boston loss from clinching the East’s best record for the sixth time in franchise history.
