Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 31 points lead Thunder to comeback win over Kings, help OKC improve to 5-0

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder stayed undefeated by rallying to beat the Sacramento Kings 107-101 on Tuesday night.

Gilgeous-Alexander went 1 for 9 from the field in the third quarter, but bounced back and went 4 for 6 with nine points in the fourth to help the defending NBA champs improve to 5-0.

Aaron Wiggins and Ajay Mitchell each scored 18 points for the Thunder, one of four unbeaten teams in the league.

Zach LaVine scored 23 points, DeMar DeRozan scored 19 and Domantas Sabonis added 10 points and 18 rebounds for the Kings. Former Thunder star Russell Westbrook had 16 points and nine rebounds in his first start of the season for Sacramento.

The Thunder won at Dallas on Monday night and were short-handed on Tuesday. Forward Chet Holmgren, the team's No. 2 scorer, sat out with lower back soreness. Oklahoma City already had been missing two key rotation players in 2025 All-Star Jalen Williams (recovery from right wrist surgery) and sharpshooting guard Isaiah Joe (bruised left knee).

It looked like the schedule and the injuries might have caught up with Oklahoma City. The Kings led 62-58 at halftime after shooting 56.1% from the field.

Oklahoma City took a 71-70 lead in the third quarter on two free throws by Lu Dort, but the Kings immediately responded with an 11-0 run. Sacramento took an 83-80 lead into the fourth.

The Thunder trailed for much of this game before Dort's 3-pointer put them up 99-97 in the closing minutes. Alex Caruso's 3-pointer made it 104-99 with 46 seconds to play, and Gilgeous-Alexander's stepback 3-pointer with 16 seconds left extended the lead to six.

Sacramento: Visits the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.

Oklahoma City: Hosts the Washington Wizards on Thursday night.

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Sacramento Kings guard Russell Westbrook (18) drives against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) during the first half of an NBA basketball game between Sacramento Kings and Oklahoma City Thunder, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

Sacramento Kings guard Russell Westbrook (18) drives the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) during the first half of an NBA basketball game between Sacramento Kings and Oklahoma City Thunder, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis (23) drives against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) during the first half of an NBA basketball game between Sacramento Kings and Oklahoma City Thunder, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

Sacramento Kings guard Russell Westbrook (18) drives against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game between Sacramento Kings and Oklahoma City Thunder, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) gestures during the first half of an NBA basketball game between Sacramento Kings and Oklahoma City Thunder, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Conservative Party, which governed the country from 2010 until it suffered its worst-ever electoral defeat two years ago, was plunged into fresh turmoil Thursday after its leader sacked the man widely seen as her greatest rival for apparently plotting to defect from the party.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said in a video and statement on X that she sacked the party's justice spokesperson Robert Jenrick due to “irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect" in a way that was “designed to be as damaging as possible” to the party.

Badenoch also ejected Jenrick from the party's ranks in Parliament and suspended his party membership.

“The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I,” she said. “They saw too much of it in the last government, they’re seeing too much of it in this government. I will not repeat those mistakes.”

Though Badenoch did not specify which party Jenrick was planning to switch to, Nigel Farage, leader of the hard-right Reform UK party, said he had “of course” had conversations with him.

In the past 12 months, the Conservatives have suffered a string of defections to Reform UK, including some former Cabinet ministers.

Farage said in a press briefing in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, that coincided with Badenoch's statement that, “hand on heart,” he wasn't about to present Jenrick as the latest Conservative to defect to Reform, an upstart, anti-immigration party.

“I’ll give him a ring this afternoon,” he said. “I might even buy him a pint, you never know.”

The Conservatives are fighting not just the Labour government to their left, but Reform UK to the right. Reform has topped opinion polls for months, trounced the Conservatives in last May’s local elections and has welcomed a stream of defecting Tory members and officials.

Jenrick, who has continued to attract speculation about leadership ambitions despite being beaten in 2024, has appeared more open than Badenoch to the prospect of some sort of deal between the Conservatives and Reform in the run-up to next general election, which has to take place by 2029.

Jenrick has yet to respond to the news of his sacking.

The Conservatives remain the official opposition to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour.

Badenoch, a small-state, low-tax advocate, has shifted the Conservatives to the right, announcing policies similar to those of U.S. President Donald Trump, including a promise to deport 150,000 unauthorized immigrants a year.

Her poor poll ratings and lackluster performance in Parliament had stirred speculation that she could be ousted long before the next election.

However, she has been making a better impression in Parliament in recent weeks in a way that appears to have cemented her position as leader.

The party is no stranger to turmoil, having gone through six leaders in the space of 10 years, five of them serving as prime minister. Widespread anger at the way the Conservatives were governing Britain led to their defeat at the general election in July 2024, when they lost around two-thirds of their lawmakers, their worst performance since the party was created nearly 200 years ago.

Reform Party leader Nigel Farage addresses protesters outside the Iranian embassy, in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Kemi Badenoch with Robert Jenrick before being announced as the new Conservative Party leader following the vote by party members at 8 Northumberland Avenue in central London, Nov. 3, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)