The Oklahoma City Thunder would benefit from bringing in a bucket-getter to support Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in a backup role.

Gilgeous-Alexander took a break to start the final quarter, and the Thunder led 102-99 when he checked back in. He hit a 3-pointer that gave OKC a 115-106 lead and secured his career night. He then scored his 50th point on a pull-up jumper over Lauri Markkanen with 1:28 to go that gave the Thunder a 119-110 lead.

Gilgeous-Alexander made 17 of 35 field goals and ... John Collins had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Collin Sexton had 18 points and nine assists, and Walker Kessler had 17 points and 15 rebounds ...

OKLAHOMA CITY – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 54 points ... John Collins had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Collin Sexton had 18 points and nine assists, and Walker Kessler had ...

The NBA trade deadline is, for most teams, an exercise in resource-management. Take the Phoenix Suns. They are so desperate for the flexibility to make moves that they just traded one great first-round pick for three bad ones.

Games: ATL, BOS, CHA, CHI, CLE, DAL, DEN, DET, HOU, LAC, LAL, MIL, MIN, PHI, PHO, TOR, UTA, WAS Indiana and Oklahoma City are the only teams playing two games during Week 14. The two teams are in action on Wednesday and Saturday,

John Collins scored a team-high 22 points and 12 rebounds, Collin Sexton had 18 points and nine assists and Walker Kessler added 17 points, 15 rebounds and two blocked shots. The Jazz dropped to 3-8 in January, the fifth-worst record in the league.

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But in a new episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, O’Connor proposed a New York Knicks-Utah Jazz trade that is extremely one-sided, leading one to wonder why O’Connor sees such a proposal as remotely plausible.

Utah Jazz general manager Justin Zanik looked out on the court and saw what he hopes will be his team’s future. Four of the five players on the court for the Oklahoma City Thunder — the top team in the Western Conference — were players it had drafted.

The Milwaukee Bucks have begun to surge as well after their slow start along with the Indiana Pacers. Out West, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been at the top while teams like the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets,