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

OKLAHOMA CITY — Jalen Williams scored 27 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 25 and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Toronto Raptors 121-109 on Friday night in Chet Holmgren's return from injury.

Holmgren, the runner-up for rookie of the year last season, played for the first time in three months after recovering from a pelvic fracture. The 7-foot-1 forward 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 straight.

Scottie Barnes scored 21 points and Gradey Dick added 17 for the 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 trade deadline, was with the team but didn't play.

The Thunder led 58-47 at halftime and maintained control in the third quarter. Midway through the period, Williams was fouled as he drove for a tough layup in traffic. The ball rolled in, and he flexed his arms and shoulders for the crowd. He made the free throw to give the Thunder a 79-64 lead.

Takeaways

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

Thunder: Oklahoma City didn't miss a beat with Holmgren back. The Thunder made 51.2% of their shots and had 26 assists to 12 turnovers.

Key moment

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

Key stat

Gilgeous-Alexander made all 14 of his free-throw attempts.

Up next

The Raptors visit Houston on Sunday. The Thunder visit Memphis on Saturday.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba