Jalen Williams leads Thunder past Raptors 121-109 when Chet Holmgren returns from an injury

Oklahoma City (AP)-The Devil Williams scored 27 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 25 and Oklahoma City Thunder beat Toronto Raptors 121-109 Friday night in Chet Holmgren’s return from an injury.

Holmgren, Runner-Up for Rookie of the Year last season, played for the first time in three months after recovering from a pelvic break. 7-Foot-1 tip had four points, five rebounds and four blocks In 22 minutes.

Aaron Wiggins added 18 points for the NBA-best Thunder (41-9), who won their fourth equal.

Scottie Barnes scored 21 points and Gradey Dick added 17 for Raptors who lost their third in a row.

Toronto was short -handed. Scoring leader RJ Barrett was in the concussion protocol. Brandon Ingram, acquired from New Orleans before the trading deadline, was with the team but did not play.

Thunder led 58-47 at the break and maintained control in the third quarter. Midway through the period, Williams was buried when he was driving after a hard set up in traffic. The ball rolled in and he bent his arms and shoulders of the crowd. He made the free throw to give Thunder a 79-64 lead.

Takeaways

Raptors: Raptors made 20 of 50 shots inside the 3-point line when Thunder’s front line of Holmgren and 7-foot Isaiah Hartenstein created problems.

Thunder: Oklahoma City did not miss a stroke with Holmgren back. Thunder made 51.2% of their shots and had 26 assists for 12 revenue.

Keying moment

Holmgren scored his first basket on a layup with 9:43 back in the first quarter.

Key State

Gilgeous-Alexander did all 14 of his free-kick attempts.

Up next

Raptors visit Houston on Sunday. Thunderstorm Memphis Saturday.

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