TORONTO, Ont. (January 21, 2021) - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added to his fantastic start to this season, setting a new career-high in a 127-125 overtime victory against the Chicago Bulls on Friday. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points to go with 10 assists, five rebounds and a steal in a game-high 44 minutes as he helped the Thunder come back from an 18-point halftime deficit and a 22-point deficit early in the second half. The Thunder won despite a 35-point performance from Bulls guard Zach LaVine, with Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 12 of his 33 in the fourth quarter as the Thunder outscored Chicago 31-23 to force overtime.

Fellow Canadian Lu Dort also helped the Thunder get back into the game as he scored 13 points in a 2:33 minute stretch in the third quarter in the middle of a 13-0 Oklahoma City run to cut into Chicago’s lead. Dort finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and six steals in the game. Gilgeous-Alexander leads all Canadians in scoring this season, averaging 21.0 points per contest for the Thunder.

Chris Boucher continues to climb‍

Another week of NBA basketball, another week the "Chris Boucher for 6th Man of Year" campaign grows stronger. In a three-game stretch for the Raptors, Boucher averaged 22 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks as he helped Toronto build its first three-game winning streak of the season. Though Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has been opting to bring Boucher off the bench, his steadying presence has been immeasurable for Toronto through 14 games. For the season, Boucher is averaging 16.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 2.5 blocks per game. Just how efficient has Boucher been during this stretch? Via Justin Kubatko, creator of Basketball Reference, only Wilt Chamberlain has had a longer stretch of games scoring at least 20 points with an eFG% of 75% or higher:

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Free Throws:

- RJ Barrett had solid back-to-back outings for the Knicks, helping New York pick up a pair of victories against the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic on Sunday and Monday, respectively. Barrett had 19 points, 11 rebounds and three assists in Sunday’s 105-75 blowout victory over Boston. He then followed that up with 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and a steal as the Knicks held on to defeat the Magic 91-84 on Monday.

- Brandon Clarke has been a big part of a five-game winning streak the Memphis Grizzlies have built despite scheduling challenges posed due to health and safety protocols this season. Over this five-game stretch, the sophomore from Vancouver, British Columbia is averaging 16.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 32 minutes per game for Memphis. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, in the midst of this five-game winning streak two games have been postponed due to health and safety protocols.

- Andrew Wiggins continues to assist the Golden State Warriors getting into the win column, most recently in a dominant 121-99 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. With the Warriors in control throughout, Wiggins finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists while shooting 7-for-12 from the floor and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. Prior to Wednesday’s contest, the Warriors had a 115-113 comeback victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday. Despite trailing by 22 points in the third and 14 in the fourth quarter, the Warriors outscored Los Angeles 67-49 in the second half to complete the comeback and get the win. Wiggins finished with 18 points in the victory, shooting 7-for-11 from the floor and 3-for-5 from beyond the three-point line in 32 minutes. The seventh-year veteran is averaging 17.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 blocks per contest for Golden State this season.

Game of the Week

Toronto Raptors @ Indiana Pacers

Monday, January 25, 7 p.m. ET

While most Canadian hoop fans are tuning in to watch the Toronto Raptors on the regular, Monday’s game has a bit of extra significance for Canada Basketball fans. In addition to checking in on Chris Boucher to see if he can continue his stretch of stuffing the stat sheet, Monday’s game will also mark the first time that Senior Men’s National Team head coach Nick Nurse will face former Raptors assistant and Senior Men’s National Team assistant coach Nate Bjorkgren on the opposing sideline. This is Bjorkgren’s first season as an NBA head coach after the Pacers hired him to fill their head coaching vacancy this past summer. Bjorkgren had spent the previous two seasons with the Raptors and coached with Team Canada most recently at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China.