SGA’s hot hands power Thunder

MANILA, Philippines — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder avenged last week’s defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers with a crushing 134-114 victory in a lopsided clash between the league-leading NBA rivals on Thursday.

Gilgeous-Alexander produced a dazzling all-round performance to bag the 18th 40-point game of his career, overwhelming a shell-shocked Cavs line-up at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

The 26-year-old Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 40 points, eight assists and three rebounds, the standout performance in a blowout that no one saw coming.

Most analysts had anticipated another close duel in Thursday’s rematch between two teams many expect to end up meeting in the NBA Finals in June.

But the Cavaliers never recovered after a first-quarter onslaught that saw the Thunder sprint to a 32-14 lead after a scorching 22-2 run.

In other games, DeMar DeRozan finished with 31 points as the Sacramento Kings halted the second-placed Houston Rockets’ five-game winning streak with a nail-biting 132-127 victory in California.

Malik Monk added 28 points and Domantas Sabonis scored 20 as the Kings improved to 21-20 in the Western Conference.

In Washington, Devin Booker scored 37 points and Kevin Durant added 23 as the Phoenix Suns overcame the Wizards 130-123.

In Detroit, the Indiana Pacers overpowered the Pistons 111-100 with 28 points from Myles Turner and 26 from Pascal Siakam.

The Los Angeles Clippers cruised to another dominant win with a 118-89 mauling of the Portland Trail Blazers.