LOS Angeles, USA, Jan 30 – The Golden State Warriors withstood a 52-point haul from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to beat Western Conference leaders Oklahoma Thunder 116-109.
Canada’s Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points in the first half as his side led 58-48 at the break but Golden State fought back to pull away for victory.
The home side were led by Andrew Wiggins’s 27 points, while Stephen Curry scored 17 of his 21 in the second half.
“We just stayed solid. Just all around effort,” said Curry.
“We need every win possible. We haven’t really developed anything consistent in terms of the win column. So this is a great test.”
Despite defeat, Thunder remain top of the Western Conference while Golden State improve their record to 24-23.
In Wednesday’s other matches, the Cleveland Cavaliers maintained their lead over defending champions the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference with victory over the Miami Heat.
The Cavs, who were missing Darius Garland, Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro, were led by 34 points from Donovan Mitchell in a 126-106 win.
The Celtics thumped the Chicago Bulls 122-100 with Kristaps Porzingis sinking eight three-pointers in his score of 34.
Elsewhere, there were wins for the New York Knicks over the Denver Nuggets, the Indiana Pacers against the Detroit Pistons, while the Los Angeles Clippers beat the San Antonio Spurs.
Commissioner suggests switch to 10-minute quarters
Meanwhile, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has raised the possibility of switching from 12-minute to 10-minute quarters.
Speaking on The Dan Patrick Show, he cited an evolving television audience and the need to align with international rules as reasons for the potential change.
Silver added it is not something the league is actively considering and acknowledged it would need further study to be implemented.
“I’m a fan of four 10-minute quarters. I’m not sure that many others are,” he said.
“It’s such a dramatic change to the game. I think something like that would have to be talked more about over time.”
The NBA has played 48-minute games throughout its history, but Olympic and other international games are 40 minutes long, while US collegiate men’s games are played in two 20-minute periods.
Should the NBA make the change, it would likely make some single-game and single-season records impossible to break.
“Because this game is so global, one of the things we’d like to see over time is creating a more consistent set of rules globally around the game,” added Silver.
“Putting aside what it would mean for records and things like that, I think that a two-hour format for a game is more consistent for modern television habits.”
