Coach Herve Renard confident in Saudis’ ability to qualify for a 7th World Cup

LOS ANGELES: The NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder erased a 19-point first-half deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 114-100 on Sunday and improve their league-best record to 10-1.

Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 13 of his 35 points in the third quarter as the Thunder surged to the lead then held on to continue their mastery of the Grizzlies, who they swept in the first round of the playoffs last season.

Gilgeous-Alexander added seven rebounds, six assists and two steals and Chet Holmgren and Ajay Mitchell added 21 points each for OKC.

“We know in this league so many variables are thrown at you on a nightly basis,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “You’ve just got to figure out what the task is that night and get it done.

“We’ve done that on multiple occasions in the past couple of years. We built that muscle pretty well and it showed.”

Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies with 17 points and seven rebounds. Ja Morant added 11 points, three rebounds and eight assists.

The Grizzlies were up 33-25 after the first quarter. They led by as many as 19 on the way to a 62-51 halftime advantage.

But the Thunder stormed back after the break, out-scoring the Grizzlies 34-18 in the third quarter to seize an 85-80 lead heading into the final frame.

The Grizzlies tied it twice in the fourth, but Mitchell drove for a layup that put Oklahoma City up for good with 8:05 remaining and Gilgeous-Alexander delivered a pair of three-pointers and a three-point play in a nine-point outburst as the Thunder pulled away.

“My shot wasn’t falling throughout the whole night, that didn’t deter me,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I just stuck with it. Made a few just in time for the W.”

The Houston Rockets, led by 31 points from two-time champion Kevin Durant, rallied late in Milwaukee to beat the Bucks 122-115.

Alperen Sengun added 23 points and 11 rebounds and Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Sheppard scored 16 apiece for the Rockets, who bounced back from a Friday loss to San Antonio that ended their five-game winning streak.

’Great finish’

The Bucks had led since the first quarter when Smith, fed by Durant, drilled a three-pointer that put the Rockets up 113-111 with 2:28 remaining.

Bucks guard Ryan Rollins responded with a driving layup to tie it, but Durant put the Rockets back in front for good with a pull-up basket, Sengun adding a turnaround hook shot and a driving basket that yielded a three-point play as Houston pulled away.

Durant connected on an efficient 11-of-15 shots and handed out seven assists and the Rockets out-scored the Bucks 22-7 over the final four and a half minutes.

“We weathered the storm,” Durant said. “It was a great, great finish for us.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo, coming off a 41-point performance in the Bucks’ win over the Bulls on Friday, scored 37 points.

But he missed a layup and four of six free throws in the final minute and a half.

In New York, the Knicks pushed their perfect home record to 6-0 with a 134-98 blowout of the one-win Brooklyn Nets.

Detroit’s Cade Cunningham scored 26 points and handed out 11 assists to propel the Pistons to a sixth straight victory, 111-107 over the 76ers in Philadelphia.

Cunningham posted his sixth double-double of the season, shaking off a slow start to score 24 points in the second half as the Pistons rallied from a 13-point deficit.

Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points to lead Philadelphia, who were without Joel Embiid on the second night of a back-to-back.

In San Francisco, Jimmy Butler scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out seven assists for the Golden State Warriors, who beat the injury-hit Indiana Pacers 114-83 despite the absence of ailing star Stephen Curry — who missed a third straight game.