Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren lead Thunder to easy win over Bulls, 114-95
CHICAGO (AP) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points, Chet Holmgren added 21 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder pounded Chicago 114-95 in the Bulls’ home opener on Saturday.
Jalen Williams added 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Zach LaVine had 22 points and nine rebounds for Chicago. Nikola Vucevic added 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Josh Giddey finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in his first game against the Thunder since an offseason trade to Chicago for Alex Caruso. Oklahoma City granted his request to be dealt after his role in the playoffs was reduced.
Caruso, a popular player during his three seasons with the Bulls, got a standing ovation and waved to the crowd during an early timeout. He checked into the game late in the first quarter and finished with three points in 22 minutes.
Thunder: The Thunder are looking good through two games, after earning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference last year. There was no letdown against Chicago after beating the Nuggets 102-87 in an important game to start the season. Oklahoma City and Denver both finished 57-25 last season, with the Thunder earning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference by virtue of a tiebreaker.
Bulls: Chicago never found a rhythm after rolling past Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in Milwaukee on Friday. The Bulls shot 34.8% overall and made just 15 of 53 3-pointers.
The Thunder ended the first half on a 22-3 run and took a 59-39 lead to the locker room.
The Bulls cooled off in a big way from 3-point range after making 21 of 47 against Milwaukee. Coby White, coming off a 35-point outing, was 0 for 9 from beyond the arc.
The Thunder host Atlanta on Sunday, and the Bulls visit Memphis on Monday. ---
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Chet Holmgren vs. Nikola Vucevic (Luguentz Dort gains possession) | ||
| 11:45 |  | +2 | Chet Holmgren makes two point alley-oop dunk (Jalen Williams assists) | 2-0 |
| 11:31 | | Thunder technical foul (Defensive three second) | ||
| 11:31 | | +1 | Zach LaVine makes technical free throw 1 of 1 | 2-1 |
| 11:24 | | +2 | Nikola Vucevic makes two point floating jump shot (Coby White assists) | 2-3 |
| 11:16 | | Chet Holmgren misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 11:14 | | Josh Giddey defensive rebound | ||
| 11:06 | | Coby White misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:01 | | Patrick Williams offensive rebound | ||
| 11:01 | | Patrick Williams misses two point putback layup | ||
| 11:01 | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander defensive rebound | ||
| 10:57 | | Cason Wallace misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:53 | | Josh Giddey defensive rebound | ||
| 10:48 | | +2 | Josh Giddey makes two point reverse layup | 2-5 |
| 10:36 | | +3 | Luguentz Dort makes three point jump shot (Jalen Williams assists) | 5-5 |
| 10:13 | | Coby White turnover (out of bounds lost ball) | ||
| 10:02 | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 9:52 | | +2 | Josh Giddey makes two point driving floating bank jump shot | 5-7 |
| 9:44 | | +2 | Jalen Williams makes two point stepback jump shot | 7-7 |
| 9:33 | | Josh Giddey turnover (lost ball) (Cason Wallace steals) | ||
| 9:27 | | Jalen Williams misses two point running layup | ||
| 9:25 | | Patrick Williams defensive rebound | ||
| 9:17 | | Nikola Vucevic turnover (bad pass) (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander steals) | ||
| 9:10 | | Cason Wallace misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:06 | | Zach LaVine defensive rebound | ||
| 8:59 | | Nikola Vucevic misses two point driving layup | ||
| 8:57 | | Nikola Vucevic offensive rebound | ||
| 8:57 | | Nikola Vucevic misses two point tip layup | ||
| 8:57 | | Bulls offensive rebound | ||
| 8:57 | | Bulls 60 second timeout | ||
| 8:36 | | Coby White misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:36 | | Josh Giddey offensive rebound | ||
| 8:36 | | Josh Giddey misses two point tip dunk | ||
| 8:36 | | Chet Holmgren defensive rebound | ||
| 8:36 | | Coby White shooting foul (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander draws the foul) | ||
| 8:36 | | +1 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 8-7 |
| 8:36 | | +1 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 9-7 |
| 8:22 | | Patrick Williams misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:20 | | Chet Holmgren defensive rebound | ||
| 8:11 | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 8:06 | | Josh Giddey defensive rebound | ||
| 7:56 | | Zach LaVine turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 7:41 | | Jalen Williams misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 7:38 | | Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound | ||
| 7:33 | | Coby White turnover (bad pass) (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander steals) | ||
| 7:28 | | +2 | Cason Wallace makes two point driving dunk (Jalen Williams assists) | 11-7 |
| 7:14 | | Nikola Vucevic misses two point jump shot | ||
| 7:13 | | Thunder defensive rebound | ||
| 7:04 | | Nikola Vucevic shooting foul (Chet Holmgren draws the foul) | ||
| 7:04 | | Chet Holmgren misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 7:04 | | Thunder offensive rebound | ||
| 7:04 | | +1 | Chet Holmgren makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 12-7 |
| 6:46 | | +3 | Nikola Vucevic makes three point jump shot (Ayo Dosunmu assists) | 12-10 |
| 6:34 | | +2 | Cason Wallace makes two point driving reverse layup | 14-10 |
| 6:26 | | Ayo Dosunmu misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 6:22 | | Cason Wallace defensive rebound | ||
| 6:09 | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 6:05 | | Jalen Williams offensive rebound | ||
| 6:03 | | Jalen Williams misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 6:01 | | Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound | ||
| 5:52 | | Nikola Vucevic misses two point turnaround hook shot | ||
| 5:50 | | Chet Holmgren defensive rebound | ||
| 5:39 | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:35 | | Zach LaVine defensive rebound | ||
| 5:29 | | Zach LaVine turnover (lost ball) (Chet Holmgren steals) | ||
| 5:19 | | Jalen Williams misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:15 | | Zach LaVine defensive rebound | ||
| 5:14 | | Chet Holmgren shooting foul (Zach LaVine draws the foul) | ||
| 5:14 | | +1 | Zach LaVine makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 14-11 |
| 5:14 | | +1 | Zach LaVine makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 14-12 |
| 5:11 | | Lonzo Ball personal foul (Aaron Wiggins draws the foul) | ||
| 5:00 | | +2 | Luguentz Dort makes two point driving layup (Ousmane Dieng assists) | 16-12 |
| 4:42 | | Lonzo Ball misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:39 | | Ousmane Dieng defensive rebound | ||
| 4:33 | | Ousmane Dieng misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:28 | | Ayo Dosunmu defensive rebound | ||
| 4:21 | | Ayo Dosunmu misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:17 | | Cason Wallace defensive rebound | ||
| 4:09 | | Cason Wallace misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 4:07 | | Zach LaVine defensive rebound | ||
| 4:00 | | Zach LaVine misses two point layup | ||
| 3:58 | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander defensive rebound | ||
| 3:54 | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 3:52 | | Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound | ||
| 3:44 | | Cason Wallace shooting foul (Nikola Vucevic draws the foul) | ||
| 3:44 | | +1 | Nikola Vucevic makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 16-13 |
| 3:44 | | +1 | Nikola Vucevic makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 16-14 |
| 3:32 | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 3:29 | | Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound | ||
| 3:23 | | Lonzo Ball misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:18 | | Ousmane Dieng defensive rebound | ||
| 3:16 | | Aaron Wiggins misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 3:12 | | Lonzo Ball defensive rebound | ||
| 3:07 | | Alex Caruso personal foul (Nikola Vucevic draws the foul) | ||
| 2:55 | | Julian Phillips misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:52 | | Aaron Wiggins defensive rebound | ||
| 2:42 | | +2 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes two point driving finger roll layup | 18-14 |
| 2:42 | | Coby White shooting foul (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander draws the foul) | ||
| 2:42 | | Thunder 60 second timeout | ||
| 2:42 | | +1 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 19-14 |
| 2:34 | | Isaiah Joe personal foul (Coby White draws the foul) | ||
| 2:26 | | Josh Giddey misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:20 | | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander defensive rebound | ||
| 2:14 | | +2 | Aaron Wiggins makes two point driving floating bank jump shot | 21-14 |
| 1:53 | | +2 | Josh Giddey makes two point driving floating jump shot (Coby White assists) | 21-16 |
| 1:35 | | Alex Caruso misses three point jump shot | ||
| 1:30 | | Ayo Dosunmu defensive rebound | ||
| 1:28 | | +3 | Julian Phillips makes three point jump shot (Josh Giddey assists) | 21-19 |
| 1:11 | | +2 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes two point driving reverse layup | 23-19 |
| 0:51 | | Aaron Wiggins personal foul (Coby White draws the foul) | ||
| 0:51 | | Coby White misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 0:51 | | Bulls offensive rebound | ||
| 0:51 | | +1 | Coby White makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 23-20 |
| 0:32 | | +3 | Isaiah Joe makes three point jump shot (Jalen Williams assists) | 26-20 |
| 0:19 | | Aaron Wiggins shooting foul (Jalen Smith draws the foul) | ||
| 0:19 | | Jalen Smith misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 0:19 | | Bulls offensive rebound | ||
| 0:19 | | Thunder delay of game violation | ||
| 0:19 | | +1 | Jalen Smith makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 26-21 |
| 0:00 | | Ousmane Dieng misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:00 | | Thunder offensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:51 | | Jalen Smith misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:48 | | Josh Giddey offensive rebound | ||
| 11:44 | | Josh Giddey turnover (bad pass) (Ajay Mitchell steals) | ||
| 11:39 | | Alex Caruso misses two point running layup | ||
| 11:37 | | Jalen Smith defensive rebound | ||
| 11:35 | | Ajay Mitchell personal foul (Coby White draws the foul) | ||
| 11:23 | | Patrick Williams misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 11:20 | | Chet Holmgren defensive rebound | ||
| 11:03 | | Ajay Mitchell misses two point driving reverse layup | ||
| 11:01 | | Jalen Smith defensive rebound | ||
| 11:01 | | Patrick Williams turnover (out of bounds step) | ||
| 10:46 | | Ajay Mitchell misses two point driving reverse layup | ||
| 10:44 | | Jalen Smith defensive rebound | ||
| 10:40 | | +3 | Jalen Smith makes three point jump shot (Josh Giddey assists) | 26-24 |
| 10:24 | | +2 | Jalen Williams makes two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot |