Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander puts up a shot while defended by Brooklyn’s Dorian Finney-Smith in the first half Tuesday night at Oklahoma City. Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points, Josh Giddey had 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Brooklyn Nets 121-107 on Tuesday night for their sixth win in seven games.

Lu Dort matched his season high with 24 points and added nine rebounds for Oklahoma City, which rallied from a 14-point, first-half deficit thanks mostly to a sizzling third quarter, during which Dort made five 3-pointers.

Mikal Bridges scored 34 points and Cam Johnson added 23 for Brooklyn, which had won five of its last six games, with four of those wins on the road.

The Nets looked at times as if they’d run away in the first half before settling for a 62-52 halftime lead. To that point, Oklahoma City had made only 2 of 10 from 3-point range, but led by Dort, the Thunder went 8 of 15 from behind the arc while outscoring Brooklyn 38-20 in the third quarter.

LAKERS 123, PELICANS 108: Anthony Davis had 35 points and 17 rebounds, Malik Beasley hit seven 3-pointers in just the first half, and visiting  Los Angeles took a 36-point, second-quarter lead on its way to beating New Orleans.

Beasley finished with 24 points for the Lakers, who shot 18 of 39 from 3-point range — including 15 of 27 before halftime. D’Angelo Russell added 17 points to help Los Angeles move one game ahead of New Orleans in the Western Conference standings as both clubs try remain in contention for a spot in the postseason.

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RAPTORS 125, NUGGETS 110: Fred VanVleet scored 36 points, O.G. Anunoby had 24 and Toronto used a franchise-record 49-point first quarter to beat visiting Denver, which lost its season-high fourth straight.

Nikola Jokic scored 28 points, Michael Porter Jr. had 23 and Aaron Gordon had 18 for the Western Conference-leading Nuggets, who are winless since a March 6 home victory over the Raptors.

CAVALIERS 120, HORNETS 104: Evan Mobley had 26 points and visiting Cleveland scored 35 points off Charlotte turnovers to beat the Hornets for the second time in three days.

Cedi Osman scored 24 points off the bench and Caris LeVert added 22 points and seven assists for the Cavaliers, who played without All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell (sprained finger) and center Jarrett Allen (eye contusion).

WIZARDS 117, PISTONS 97: Bradley Beal scored 36 points, and host Washington snapped a three-game losing streak.

Playing without Kyle Kuzma, the Wizards still raced to a 22-point advantage in the first quarter, and although they’ve had issues holding those types of leads this season, the last-place Pistons represented little threat. Killian Hayes led Detroit with 20 points.

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SPURS 132, MAGIC 114: Jeremy Sochan had 29 points and 10 rebounds and San Antonio had a franchise-high 22 3-pointers and season-high 39 assists in beating visiting Orlando.

San Antonio center Zach Collins added 25 points, six rebounds and five assists. The Spurs are 6-27 in 2023, but have won 4 of 7.

NOTES

CAVALIERS: The Cleveland Cavaliers signed guard Sam Merrill to a multiyear contract, filling their open roster spot as they near clinching a playoff berth.

Merrill signed a 10-day contract with the Cavs on March 3. Rather than give him a second 10-day deal, the team opted to sign him for three years, two guaranteed.

The 6-foot-4 Merrill has only appeared in one game for Cleveland after playing in 34 for the G League Charge and averaging 16.4 points. He scored a season-high 32 while making 10 of 14 3-pointers against Greensboro on Feb. 22.

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