Gilgeous-Alexander keeps record 20-point streak alive as Thunder win 8th straight, beat Timberwolves

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 20 points and 10 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-103 on Sunday for their eighth straight win.

Gilgeous-Alexander barely extended his record streak of games with at least 20 points to 128. He had just 10 points heading into the fourth, and he re-entered the game with 7:10 left after resting.

He scored on a stepback against Anthony Edwards with 1:46 remaining and was fouled to reach 19 points. With the crowd standing and chanting “M-V-P!” he drained the free throw to keep the streak alive and push himself further past Wilt Chamberlain's old mark of 126.

Chet Holmgren had 21 points and nine rebounds and Isaiah Joe added 20 points for the Thunder, who improved to a league-best 53-15.

Julius Randle scored 32 points and Edwards added 19 for the Timberwolves.

The Thunder forced 22 turnovers while committing just seven. Oklahoma City attempted 101 shots while Minnesota tried 77.

Oklahoma City ran out to a 9-0 lead and held the Timberwolves scoreless for nearly three minutes at the start.

Minnesota recovered and led 53-47 at halftime. Gilgeous-Alexander scored just four points on 2-for-10 shooting before the break.

Minnesota pushed its lead to 68-59 midway through the third quarter before the Thunder rallied. A 3-pointer by Jaylin Williams that bounced before going in gave Oklahoma City a 78-73 edge, and the Thunder took an 80-76 lead into the fourth.

Oklahoma City took control early in the final period. Jared McCain caught a no-look, behind-the-back pass from Isaiah Hartenstein and drained a 3-pointer to give Oklahoma City a 91-80 lead. The two connected again, this time with Hartenstein's two-handed pass bouncing between his legs and behind him. McCain's 3 put the Thunder ahead 94-81.

Timberwolves: Host Phoenix on Tuesday.

Thunder: Visit Orlando on Tuesday.

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Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, right, looks for an opening past Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren, left, and guard Ajay Mitchell, center, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle, right, pushes past Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams, bottom, keeps the ball away from Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle, top, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

Oklahoma City Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, left, pushes past Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, right, pushes past Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

Adam Scott officially is set for his 100th consecutive major next month in the U.S. Open, which added 24 players to the field from the world ranking on Monday. Sixteen players also earned spots at qualifiers in England and Dallas.

Scott effectively secured his spot among the top 60 in the world with a tie for fourth in the Cadillac Championship at Doral. He is at No. 49 in this week's ranking, which the U.S. Open uses to determine who avoids qualifying.

Others exempt through the top 60 in the world ranking include Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Alex Smalley, who tied for second in the PGA Championship to move up 36 spots to No. 42.

Matti Schmid, who had the lead during the final round of the PGA Championship and wound up in a tie for fourth, earned one of five exemptions awarded to leading players in the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour who were not already exempt.

The exemptions finalized Monday meant 70 players in the 156-man field will be forced to qualify, an unusually low number for a major that prefers that roughly half the field go through qualifying. The U.S. Open is June 18-21 at Shinnecock on New York's Long Island.

Adding to the field Monday were two final qualifying events.

Nathan Kimsey of England had a 62 in his second round at Walton Heath to earn one of seven spots out of England. He will be making his U.S. Open debut.

Kimsey was joined by Rocco Repetto Taylor, Filippo Celli, Matthew Jordan, Angel Hidalgo, Niklas Norgaard and Ugo Coussaud, who earned the final spot in a 4-for-1 playoff.

Thomas Detry ended nine days of U.S. Open misfortune by losing out in England playoff, and missing out in the bid for two alternate spots.

Detry was set to earn an exemption from LIV Golf until Lucas Herbert won in Virginia on May 10. He was at No. 61 in the world going into the PGA Championship but missed a 12-foot birdie putt on his final hole to miss the cut by one shot. And then he flew to London.

All is not lost. Detry still has two tournaments — the Soudal Open this week in his native Belgium and LIV Golf Korea the following week — to move into the top 60 before the final cutoff for the world ranking on June 14.

The Dallas qualifier — the first of 11 to be held in North America over the next month — featured Sergio Garcia among 14 players from LIV Golf.

LIV's Peter Uihlein won the qualifier and was one of three LIV players to get through, joined by 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell and Caleb Surratt. McDowell who will play in the championship for the first time since 2020, the last year of his exemption for winning at Pebble Beach a decade earlier.

Garcia fell two shots short of a six-way playoff for the last spot, won by Surratt. The other players to qualify at Dallas Athletic Club were Tom Kim, Cooper Dossey, Manav Shah, Jimmy Stanger, Adrien Dumont de Chassart and TK Kim.

Scott's streak began with the 2001 British Open, and he has not missed a major since, even going through U.S. Open qualifying when he wasn't exempt. It's the longest streak since Jack Nicklaus played in 146 in a row, from the 1962 Masters through the 1998 U.S. Open.

Scott's one close call was breaking a bone in his hand before the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, but he played — grouped with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in the opening two rounds — and tied for 26th that week.

“I would rather win some stuff, and let’s celebrate winning the U.S. Open than just playing in it,” Scott said three weeks ago. “I can give myself a pat on the back for hanging in there and playing all these events. I think there’s some luck in it, but I think I’ve had generally great advice around me from a physical and training standpoint that’s kept me healthy and pretty much injury-free.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Alex Smalley hits from the fourth tee during the final round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Aronimink Golf Club, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Newtown Square, PA. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Matti Schmid, of Germany, hits from the bunker on the 13th green during the final round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Aronimink Golf Club, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Newtown Square, PA. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Adam Scott, of Australia, looks at his ball on the 10th green during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Aronimink Golf Club, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Newtown Square, PA. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)