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 was led by Andrew Wiggins’s 27 points, while Stephen Curry scored 17 of his 21 in the second half.
“We just stayed solid. Just allround 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 remains top of the Western Conference while Golden State improve its 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.