MIAMI – Jalen Williams scored a season-high 33 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 25 and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Miami Heat 104-97 on Friday night for their seventh straight win.

Lu Dort scored 14 points and Isaiah Hartenstein had 13 points and 18 rebounds for the Thunder, who improved to 22-5 – the second-best record in the NBA and top of the Western Conference.

Oklahoma City’s winning streak continues because the NBA Cup Final – a loss Tuesday night to Milwaukee in Las Vegas – does not count as a regular-season game.

Tyler Herro had 28 points and 12 rebounds for Miami, which got 17 points and 10 rebounds from Bam Adebayo.

The Heat lost Jimmy Butler to illness in the first quarter and briefly lost Adebayo in the third quarter when he was elbowed over one eye by teammate Jaime Jaquez Jr. Adebayo needed seven stitches but came back.

Takeaways

Thunder: Williams’ previous season high was 31. And the big difference for the Thunder was turnovers – they turned 19 Miami giveaways into 27 points.

Heat: Managing partner Micky Arison and senior director of team development Ruth Riley Hunter – an NCAA, Olympic and WNBA champion – are Basketball Hall of Fame inductees for the Class of 2025. ‘It’s about time’ for Arison, said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who added that those like Hunter — with college, pro and Olympic titles — should be a Hall lock.

Key moment

Midway through the third quarter, Oklahoma City trailed by three points and then started the final spurt with a 10-0 run. The Thunder had a lead of 11 heading into the fourth round.

Key statistics

Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 25 points in 17 consecutive games, the longest such streak in the NBA this season.

Next

The Thunder host Washington on Monday. The Heat are in Orlando on Saturday.

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