Thunder get Jalen Williams back and hold off Suns to advance in NBA Cup originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
After 19 games with him sidelined, the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder welcomed Jalen Williams back into the lineup against the Phoenix Suns on Friday night. The matchup had large NBA Cup implications, as the winner would take Group A, while the loser would be relegated to the Wild Card. Although the Suns put together a strong fourth quarter run, Oklahoma City stayed poised and prevailed with a crunch time win, 123-119.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementShai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way once again for Oklahoma City, scoring 37 points to go along with eight assists and three rebounds. In his last four games, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 36.25 points. Chet Holmgren added 23 points and eight rebounds, shoring up the frontcourt in the absence of Isaiah Hartenstein.
As for Jalen Williams, it was clear that he was trying to shake off the rust in his season debut. Williams finished with 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting with eight assists, four rebounds, two steals and one block. Williams finished with 29 minutes of playing time, an encouraging number for Thunder fans, as Williams doesn't seem to be on a minutes restriction.
The win clinched Group A for Oklahoma City and earned them the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference entering the quarterfinals. Phoenix however was not eliminated as the Suns earned the Western Conference Wild Card due to their 3-1 record and high point differential.
With the Lakers and Spurs making up the two and three seeds respectively, the Thunder will face Phoenix once more, in the quarterfinals. Both Western Conference quarterfinal matchups are set for Dec. 10.
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