Thunder guard Gilgeous-Alexander sits out against Rockets

Sh ai Gil geo usAlexander missed the Thunder' s late game against the Rockets on Wednesday night after sustaining a left knee sprain two nights earlier.

With three minutes left in the second quarter of a 136-106 loss Monday, Gilgeous-Alexander slipped as he tried a spin move against Rockets guard Eric Gordon. The play resulted in a turnover.

Gilgeous-Alexander limped through a few possessions before he was taken out at the 1:47 mark.

Gilgeous-Alexander looked frustrated that he had been removed from the game.

“Coach just wanted to sub me out to make sure I was OK ,” Gil geous-Alexander said .“And that was kind of in the moment, so I was kinda surprised as to why he was taking me out. He was just looking out for me. I came out, they did a quick check up and I was good.”

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault explained the decision.

“Anytime a guy is limping around a little bit I try to keep an eye on him,” Daigneault said. “He was favoring it for multiple possessions and so I just got a sub up for him just so Donnie (Strack) and our medical people could talk to him. Just trying to keep the big picture in mind there.”

Gilgeous-Alexander played 12 more minutes in the second half of the blowout loss.

The 22-year-old point guard is averaging a teamhigh 21.8 points and 6.3 assists per game. His 5.3 rebounds per game rank third on the team.

Wednesday marked just the third game Gilgeous-Alexander has missed in his three-year career.

Irving scores 39 as Nets trim Clippers

Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden relished a chance to test themselves against the NBA's best.

The Los Angeles Clippers left Brooklyn impressed — and eager for another shot at the Nets.

Irving scored a season-high 39 points, including eight straight in the fourth-quarter run that sent Brooklyn into the lead for good, and the Nets beat the Clippers 124-120 on Tuesday night.

Du rant added 28 points, Harden had 23 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds, and the three stars scored all the points in the decisive 13-0 spurt. The Nets held on from there to snap the Clippers' three-game winning streak.

“We just matched it tonight ,” Irving said. “We knew that they were going to bring it, so it was just an exciting game. It was great competition for the top players in the world, some of the top players in the world to go against each other on TV.”

Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points and Paul George had 26 for the Clippers, who entered with the NBA's best record and lost for just the second time in 12 games.

They had a five-point lead midway through the fourth before Durant hit a 3- pointer. Irving followed with one of his own, then made a basket and another 3. Harden finished off the spurt with a 3, making it 110102 with 4:10 to play.

Late Tuesday CELTICS 111, WARRIORS 107:

Jayson Tatum had 27 points in picking up the offensive slack for Boston without injured Marcus Smart, and the Celtics withstood another scoring spree by Stephen Curry to win at Golden State. Curry scored 38 points with seven 3-pointers and joined late Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain as the only Warriors to score 17,000 points for the franchise.

JAZZ 117, PISTONS 105:

Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a victory over the Detroit Pistons. Mike Conley added 20 points and Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 18 for Utah, which reclaimed the NBA's best record with the Los Angeles Clippers loss to the Brooklyn Nets. Royce O'Neale tallied 12 points and 13 rebounds.

BLAZERS 132, WIZARDS 121:

Damian Lillard scored 32 points, Gary Trent Jr. added 26 while hitting seven 3-pointers and the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers held on for a win over the Washington Wizards. Enes Kanter had 14 points and 15 rebounds for Portland, which improved to 2-2 on its sixgame road trip.

PACERS 134, GRIZZLIES 116:

Domantas Sabonis had a season-high 32 points and 13 rebounds as the Pacers beat Memphis, snapping the Grizzlies' seven-game winning streak.