The Oklahoma City Thunder continued their unbeaten streak on Saturday as they came back from 13 points down to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 105-92 and move to 5-0. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander topped the night for Oklahoma with 25 points as they stayed at the top of the West Conference as the NBA’s other undefeated team besides Boston.
The Phoenix Suns stayed hot on the Thunder’s heels, sitting in the West in second after taking down the Portland Trail Blazers 103-97. The Suns move to 5-1 and continued an extremely consistent start to the season without injured superstar Devin Booker. Kevin Durant had 26 points to lead the Suns, while Jusuf Nurkic added a double-double and was huge on both sides of the floor.
In Denver, the Nuggets managed to rebound to .500 thanks to an impressive 129-103 blowout victory over the Utah Jazz. In the process, Nikola Jokic was dominant with 27 points, 16 rebounds, and nine assists, narrowly missing a triple-double. The presence of the reigning MVP proved too much for Utah as Denver now stands at 3-3.
In Charlotte, the Boston Celtics recorded their second successive win over the Hornets with a 113-103 victory at the Spectrum Center. Jayson Tatum, up against much double-teaming, scored 29 points to attract a warm tribute from Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla. “They doubled him, and he made the right play every time,” said Mazzulla. “He played with tremendous poise.”
The Celtics bench did its part in style, too, as Payton Pritchard nailed six three-pointers en route to 22 points in a brilliant outing, while Luke Kornet added 19 points and Derrick White chipped in with 18 to help keep Boston undefeated and atop the Eastern Conference.
In Philadelphia, meanwhile, the 76ers were still nursing some injuries, with Joel Embiid and Paul George remaining out. It would be an uphill climb the rest of the way as the Memphis Grizzlies went on to win 123-107. Memphis was led by Jaren Jackson Jr., with 27 points. Ja Morant had a double-double with 18 points and 12 assists as the Grizzlies improved to 4-3 on the season.
Saturday’s results placed a stamp on a scintillating start of the season, headed by the likes of Oklahoma City and Boston-a pair of undefeated teams-while the rest of the contenders fall in line.
