LOS ANGELES, California — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) delivered a 40-point scoring performance as the Oklahoma City Thunder became the first team to punch their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a 113-108 defeat of the Orlando Magic on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).
Gilgeous-Alexander was backed with 20 points and 12 rebounds from Chet Holmgren while Ajay Mitchell’s 16 point-display helped the NBA champions slam the door on the Magic in the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma City’s ninth straight victory leaves them on 54-15 at the top of the Western Conference, ahead of the second-placed San Antonio Spurs.
Orlando fell to 38-30 to remain in sixth place in the Eastern Conference tables. Paolo Banchero led Orlando’s scoring with 32 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Gilgeous-Alexander saluted the Thunder’s resilience after a mixed first-half performance.
“We got off to a good start but then the car kind of came off the road for a little bit,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
“But that’s what great teams do — they figure out a way to get the car back on the road, they figure out a way to go into a building and win a game when the chips are stacked against you, and we did that tonight.”
Gilgeous-Alexander’s virtuoso display extended his record-breaking streak of consecutive games scoring 20 points or more to 129.
San Antonio stayed in touch with Oklahoma City after rolling to a 132-104 blowout over the Sacramento Kings.
A balanced offensive performance saw seven San Antonio players finish in double figures, with Victor Wembanyama and Keldon Johnson leading the scoring with 18 points apiece.
In Minneapolis, Julius Randle’s 32 points helped the Minnesota Timberwolves take down the Phoenix Suns, 116-104.
In the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons cruised past the Washington Wizards, 130-117, to tighten their grip at the top of the table.
The Pistons improved to 49-19, thanks to 36 points from Jalen Duren but the victory was overshadowed by an injury to Cade Cunningham.
Cunningham, who is one of the contenders for the NBA’s MVP award, left the game in the first quarter with a back problem.
The New York Knicks remain in third place in the East after a 136-110 romp against the hapless Indiana Pacers, last year’s NBA Finals runners-up who are languishing on 15-54 this season.
Josh Hart led the Knicks scoring with 33 points, including a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point range, while OG Anunoby added 26 and Karl-Anthony Towns, 22. AFP
MIAMI, Florida — Venezuela scored a stunning 3-2 upset over the United States to capture the World Baseball Classic for the first time on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) in a tense final played out against a backdrop of political tensions.
Eugenio Suarez drove in the winning run in the top of the ninth inning to seal victory for Venezuela over a star-studded American lineup which had been hyped as a baseball “dream team.”
Trailing for most of the game, the USA looked to have hauled themselves back into the contest when Bryce Harper blasted a game-tying two-run homer in the eighth inning.
But Harper’s salvo proved to be in vain as Venezuela regained the lead in the ninth inning, punishing a shaky performance from US reliever Garrett Whitlock to clinch victory.
“What can I say, it’s amazing,” Venezuela hero Suarez said. “Nobody believed in Venezuela but now we win the championship today. This is a celebration for all the Venezuelan country.”
Suarez’s winning double settled a final that had got under way in a raucous atmosphere at Miami’s LoanDepot Park, with a large contingent of Venezuela fans in a sold out crowd of 36,190 booing the USA lineup during pre-game introductions.
US President Donald Trump, whose government captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a military raid in January, had stoked tensions with a social media post on Monday, congratulating Venezuela for reaching the final while simultaneously suggesting the country could become the USA’s “51st state.”
Trump again returned to the theme moments after Tuesday’s defeat, declaring in a post on his Truth Social platform: “STATEHOOD!!! President DJT.”
Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez — who replaced the ousted Maduro — meanwhile, declared a “national day of jubilation” on Wednesday.