Two Canadian players in the National Basketball Association have delivered with significant performances over the last few days. On Sunday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Toronto, Ontario made the game winning basket for the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 101-99 win over the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. Then on Monday, Trey Lyles of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan led the Sacramento Kings in scoring with a season-high 24 points and tied with Kings’s forward Harrison Barnes for a game-high six three-pointers as the Kings clobbered the Memphis Grizzlies 133-100 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.
In the Thunder win over the Nuggets, Gilgeous-Alexander made a two point jump shot from eight feet with nine seconds left in the contest. He finished the game with 34 points. With the win, the Thunder improved to a record of 23 wins and 24 losses, and are tied with the reigning NBA Finals champions Golden State Warriors for 10th place in the Western Conference.
In the Kings win over the Grizzlies, Sacramento set a NBA record for most successfully made three-point shots in a single quarter with 12. Of the 12 three-point shots the Kings made in the first 12 minutes, Lyles made two. With the win, the Kings improved to a record of 27 wins and 19 losses, and are in third place in the West.
