West-leading Thunder beat the Jazz 130-107 for 8th victory in 9 games

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points and the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Utah Jazz 130-107 on Friday night for their eighth victory in nine games.

Chet Holmgren added 20 points for the Thunder. Jalen Williams had 18 points, and Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed 13 rebounds.

John Collins scored 26 points for Utah, and Keyonte George added 20. Walker Kessler finished with 19 rebounds, and Isaiah Coller had 12 assists.

Oklahoma City never trailed. The Thunder used a 15-4 run to take a 27-14 lead late in the first quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander and Alex Caruso fueled the spurt with a pair of baskets apiece.

Oklahoma City led by 25 points in the final minute of the half, going up 66-41 on Lu Dort’s layup.

Thunder: Smothering defense led to lots of easy baskets in transition. Oklahoma City scored 37 points off 19 Utah turnovers.

Jazz: Jaden Springer made his debut after signing a 10-day contract Thursday. He had seven points and two assists in 11 minutes.

After Utah cut the deficit to four on Collins’ layup, Jalen Williams countered with a second-chance 3-pointer. Collins then went 1 of 2 on back-to-back trips to the free throw line, keeping it a two-possession game.

The Thunder scored 39 points in the second quarter.

Oklahoma City is at Minnesota on Sunday night. Utah hosts Houston on Saturday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba