Shai Gilgeous-Alexander secured 32 points and rookie Chet Holmgren contributed 31, propelling the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 136-128 victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday in Washington, D.C.

The Thunder’s win halted a two-game losing streak, while the Wizards extended their losing streak to five. Despite leading the league in free-throw shooting, the Thunder encountered challenges at the free-throw line, missing four free throws in the third quarter. This allowed Washington to reduce an 11-point lead to merely three at one stage, finishing the third quarter with a score of 102-97 in favor of the Thunder.

Oklahoma City completed 18 of 24 free throws and has maintained a 73 percent free-throw shooting accuracy over the last three games. However, they managed to overcome these issues on this occasion.

The fourth quarter started with a 10-2 run by Oklahoma City, extending their lead to 13 points, highlighted by successive plays from Jalen Williams. Williams assisted Kenrich Williams for a layup and subsequently executed a step-back 3-pointer shortly after.

Despite the Wizards attempting to narrow the deficit to six points at 124-118 with less than five minutes remaining, they were unable to close the gap, losing possession on consecutive occasions. This allowed Gilgeous-Alexander to score five consecutive points, thereby widening the Thunder’s lead.

Jalen Williams achieved 21 points and a season-high 10 assists, scoring 11 of his points in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma City accomplished a season-high of 37 assists.

Isaiah Joe contributed 16 points off the bench for the Thunder, making four 3-pointers, while Aaron Wiggins equaled his season-high score with 13 points, 11 of which were scored in the second quarter.

On the other hand, Jordan Poole led the Wizards with 24 points, and Kyle Kuzma added 22 points along with a season-high 15 rebounds. Washington secured 25 of 29 successful free throws, after averaging less than 17 free-throw attempts per game over the preceding eight games.