CHICAGO - Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will aim to extend his NBA record of road games with at least 20 points as the reigning champions visit the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday (Wednesday morning, Singapore time).
The guard scored 30 points to boost the Western Conference-leading Thunder in Sunday's 100-87 victory at Dallas. That marked his 59th straight contest away from home with 20 or more points, an all-time league best.
"He's a great road player, obviously; there's really no difference in his game, home or road," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
"I think that's a certain level that some guys get to, which is just their ability to consistently perform in all the environments. We have a lot of guys like that within their role, but he's certainly one of them."
Gilgeous-Alexander contributed 23 points in his most recent trip to Chicago, helping Oklahoma City to a 114-95 victory on Oct 26, 2024.
While the Bulls are winless in their past six meetings with the Thunder, they have especially struggled against them at home, where Chicago have not defeated Oklahoma City since the 2021-22 season.
The Bulls stopped an 11-game losing streak on Sunday, rallying from a 16-point third-quarter deficit to top visiting Milwaukee 120-97. A franchise-record 27-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters boosted the Bulls to their first victory since Jan 31.
"Any time you go on a losing streak like that, every game becomes more and more desperate," Chicago guard Josh Giddey said.
"But I thought during the losing streak - obviously wins are what you want, but there were steps in the right direction. I thought we did a lot of good things and (Sunday) that all came together for the first time."
Giddey recorded 20 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for his eighth triple-double of the season and he will be the man to pose a threat to the Thunder.
Matas Buzelis, who has started each of the team's 61 games, agreed that the Bulls "took some great strides" forward on Sunday.
"It's different for everybody," added Buzelis, who chipped in 20 points against the Bucks. "We have basically a new team."
Besides Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City won in Dallas behind their usual suspects, with Chet Holmgren adding 19 points and nine rebounds.
Holmgren is averaging a career-best 17.2 points on 55.3 per cent shooting.
Reserves Isaiah Joe (14 points) and Jared McCain (11) also scored in double figures against the Mavericks.
After connecting on just 34.2 per cent of his attempts from deep in January, Joe is shooting 49.5 per cent from beyond the arc in the past 13 games.
"The guy can flat-out shoot it with the best of them," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I'm not surprised by any of it. He didn't start the year as hot as he is now, so I knew it'd be evened out. I'm not surprised at all."
Oklahoma City lead the NBA with 22.5 points off turnovers per game. The Bulls had 18 giveaways Sunday and are averaging 15.1.
Meanwhile in NBA action on Monday, Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a five-week injury absence but could not prevent the Milwaukee Bucks slumping to a hefty 108-81 home loss to the Boston Celtics.
Antetokounmpo, making his first appearance since suffering a right calf strain in late January, finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Boston meanwhile kept up their pursuit of the Detroit Pistons at the top of the Eastern Conference with a potent all-round offensive effort.
All five starters finished in double digits, while Payton Pritchard produced an eye-catching 25-point cameo off the bench that included five three-pointers.
Elsewhere, Alperen Sengun scored 32 points, Kevin Durant had 30 and the visiting Houston Rockets took down the Washington Wizards 123-118.
Jamal Murray scored 45 points as the Denver Nuggets held off the struggling Utah Jazz at their home court to snatch a 128-125 victory.
The Golden State Warriors, meanwhile, fell 114-101 in front of their home fans as Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard led all scorers with 23 points.