Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 33 points and 11 rebounds carried the Oklahoma City Thunder to a franchise-record 15th consecutive win, a resounding 105-92 victory over the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics on Sunday.

Luguentz Dort scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter to help the Thunder pull away in this matchup of top-tier teams. Oklahoma City outscored the Celtics by a 20-7 margin over the final seven minutes after Boston tied the game at 85-85 on Jayson Tatum's jumper near the midway stage of the final period.

Strong defence also played a key part in the Thunder's latest victory, as they held the Celtics to a season-low 19.6 percent (9 of 46) success rate on 3-point attempts and an overall field goal percentage of 36.5.

Tatum recorded 26 points and 10 rebounds while Jaylen Brown had 21 points for Boston. Brown went scoreless on 0-of-7 shooting in the second half, however, and Derrick White finished 2 of 11 from beyond the arc while managing just 11 points for the game.

SUNDAY'S FINAL SCORES

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander takes the NBA lead in 30-PT games this season as the @okcthunder win a franchise-best 15th consecutive game!

Aaron Wiggins: 15 PTS, 3 3PM
Lu Dort: 14 PTS, 6 REB, 4 3PM pic.twitter.com/pRRpVv558n
— NBA (@NBA) January 6, 2025

Brown was a force in the first half, going 8 of 12 from the field while scoring all of his 21 points to fuel Boston's 65-55 lead at the break.

The Thunder began closing the gap in the third quarter, though, and pulled within 77-76 late in the period after Aaron Wiggins' layup capped a 12-3 Oklahoma City run.

Cavaliers handle Hornets to push winning streak to 10

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a long winning streak of their own going on, one they extended as well Sunday with a 115-105 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Darius Garland paced the NBA-best Cavs with 25 points, while Donovan Mitchell had 17 of his 19 points in the second half to help Cleveland record its 10th consecutive win.

Jarrett Allen added 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who also received 17 points from Evan Mobley.

Charlotte dropped its 10th straight game despite the returns of LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller from injuries that caused each to miss the team's three previous games. Both players finished with 24 points, with Miller making 6 of 10 shots from 3-point range.

Cleveland led from nearly start to finish, as it shot 50 per cent from the field to open up a 29-23 advantage after one quarter. Its margin grew to 15 points at half-time after Allen delivered nine second-quarter points on 4-of-4 shooting to help send the Cavs into the intermission up 63-48.

The Cavaliers maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half, with the difference getting as high as 22 points in the fourth quarter.

CAVS WIN! #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/OvCQ1MG12A
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) January 6, 2025

Kings dominate Warriors to continue surge

Malik Monk put up 26 points with 12 assists, Domantas Sabonis also posted a double-double, and the Sacramento Kings remained hot with a 129-99 rout of the Golden State Warriors.

The Kings ran their winning streak to a season-high four games despite star point guard De'Aaron Fox missing his first contest of the season due to a bruised glut muscle. Monk helped offset Fox's absence by going 9 of 14 from the field, while Sabonis compiled 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting along with 13 rebounds and seven assists.

Stephen Curry had 26 points for the Warriors and Andrew Wiggins added 18, but Golden State couldn't match the Kings' strong shooting and failed to build off promising wins over the Philadelphia 76ers and Memphis Grizzlies to start 2025.

The Warriors also received some bad news before the game, when the team announced forward Jonathan Kuminga would be sidelined at least three weeks with a sprained ankle he suffered in Saturday's win over the Grizzlies. Kuminga is Golden State's second-leading scorer at 16.8 points per game.

Golden State looked weary and over-matched from the outset, as the Kings shot 58.3 per cent in the first quarter and led by as many as 18 points in the period before entering the second owning a 36-21 advantage.

Sacramento continued to pour it on in the second, as Sabonis' 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting for the quarter helped the Kings cruise into the break with a comfortable 75-51 lead.

FINAL: Kings defeat the Warriors 129-99.

Malik Monk: 26 PTS, 12 AST, 4 STL
Domantas Sabonis: 22 PTS, 13 REB, 7 AST
Kevin Huerter: 16 PTS, 2 STL

Kings Win presented by @RedHawkCasino pic.twitter.com/QEhh2jyHKt
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) January 6, 2025

The Warriors never threatened in the second half, as Sacramento's margin never got below 22 points over the final two quarters.