Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 42 as the Thunder beat the Cavaliers again

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 42 points, and the Thunder beat the Cavaliers for the second time in three nights, 124-116 on Wednesday at Paycom Center. Oklahoma City is 6-2. Cleveland fell to 4-4.

The teams met Monday in Cleveland, where Gilgeous-Alexander scored 43 and hit the go-ahead 3 with 32.6 seconds left in a 117-112 win. This one never got that tight until the very end.

How it went

Oklahoma City scored 37 points in the first quarter and led by as many as 25 midway through the second. Cleveland closed the half on a 19-10 run and scored the first nine points of the third, seven by James Harden, to get within 60-53.

The Thunder pulled away again. Rookie Bennett Stirtz hit a 3 for an 87-74 lead, and an Ajay Mitchell layup made it 96-77. Oklahoma City led 115-102 with 1:47 left before Donovan Mitchell made three 3-pointers in a row to cut it to 117-111 with 46.7 seconds left. Cleveland got no closer, and Mitchell finished with 27.

Top performers

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC: 42 points, 8 assists, 11 of 26 from the field, 5 of 11 from 3 and 15 of 19 at the line.
2. Ajay Mitchell, OKC: 23 points and 7 rebounds.
3. Bennett Stirtz, OKC: 16 points with four 3-pointers.
4. Donovan Mitchell, CLE: 27 points, 5 of 10 from 3.
5. James Harden, CLE: 19 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists.
6. Evan Mobley, CLE: 16 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks.

Why it matters

The Thunder are 3-2 since losing three starters to long-term injuries, and Gilgeous-Alexander has 85 points in two games against Cleveland. Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed 12 rebounds and Alex Caruso was plus-16 off the bench in 20 minutes.

Cleveland is back to .500. The Cavaliers host first-place Philadelphia on Friday, and the Thunder play at Memphis the same night.