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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander battles Terence Davis II and Kyle Lowry during fourth-quarter action in Toronto on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019.Hans Deryk/The Canadian Press

Canada’s own Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played the hero on Sunday, as his Oklahoma City Thunder topped the Toronto Raptors 98-97 in a game that was close to the final buzzer.

Hamilton-raised Gilgeous-Alexander had an explosive 32 points and seven rebounds as the Raptors lost their third in four games. It was the most a Canadian has scored versus the Raptors. The previous high was 31, by Rick Fox in 1998, and Andrew Wiggins in 2016.

Chris Paul punished the Raps, too, on Sunday with his 25 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists.

Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry led Toronto with 20 points apiece. Patrick McCaw had 13 points, and Serge Ibaka scored 12 with 14 rebounds.

It was the tail end of a tricky back-to-back set which saw the Raps beat the Celtics Saturday night in Boston, then fly home and suffer a loss Sunday at home.

“That’s a good team and on a back-to-back,” said Raptors coach Nick Nurse. “It’s going to be a little sluggish out there.”

The Raptors and Thunder jockeyed for the lead all night, and both teams were playing with some key players sidelined due to injuries. Gilgeous-Alexander was the star of the first half in his lone regular-season visit to Toronto this year. The 6-foot-6, 181-pound Canadian put up 20 first-half points on an efficient 8-of-11 shooting in his first 19 minutes of playing time. Oklahoma City’s starting shooting guard – the 11th overall NBA draft pick in 2018 – showed off his silky moves to the basket and playmaking ability and confidently bombed long three balls.

“I plan on making a leap like this every year,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, who started 73 games for the L.A. Clippers last year and averaged 10.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists. “And then hopefully all the accolades follow after that.”

He previously stated that he hopes to be a part of the Nurse-coached Canadian men’s team that tries to qualify for this summer’s Tokyo Olympic Games.

“I’m not sure who has a quicker first-step, blow-by move in the league right now than this guy,” Nurse said of the 21-year-old University of Kentucky product. “He’s been awesome, really awesome, and late in games, crunch time, overtime, all kinds of stuff.”

Gilgeous-Alexander has scored more than 20 points in nine of his 14 games this month, including back-to-back 32-point games against the Clippers and Phoenix Suns.

The Raps slipped into an eight-point hole in the third quarter. Seven of their 15 three-pointers on the night came in that quarter, and they battled back. Davis had a pair of those, and VanVleet did, too, as part of his eight-point quarter.

Paul got hot for OKC and dumped in 11 points in the third. The two teams kept jockeying for the lead.

Gilgeous-Alexander hit the go-ahead bank shot with 36 seconds left. VanVleet missed a wild three-point shot and the Canadian opponent snagged the rebound. Davis had a rookie moment and failed to foul when he should have. The Thunder got to inbound the ball in the dying seconds. Gilgeous-Alexander dribbled the final seconds off the clock.

“It feels good. But all of it, honestly, wouldn't have meant anything if we didn't win,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “That was the best feeling, knowing that we came out of here with a win, being short-handed.”

He has impressed his teammate Paul, the nine-time NBA all-star.

“He had his Mom here, his Dad here, all the family. I’m going to go out there and try to meet them for the first time,” said Paul of Gilgeous-Alexander. “He’s been excited to come back. Everybody here in Canada knows that you got a real one. He loves home. He loves home.”

Gilgeous-Alexander drew the attention of the Raptors stars too.

“He played like he was at home tonight, and he’s been playing like that all year,” said Lowry. “He’s been paying unbelievable, his confidence, his patience, his pace has been great. He knows his skill set and he knows his speed and pace and nothing can really rattle him.”

He wasn’t the only Canadian impressing in Sunday’s game. Toronto native Oshae Brissett (a two-way player also playing in the G-League) had four points and defended Paul and Gilgeous-Alexander in his seventh appearance for the Raps, but just his second with significant minutes (17). Montreal’s Chris Boucher provided the Raps with nine points and five rebounds, and treated the crowd to some thunderous slams. It was the first time in history that four Canadians scored in an NBA game.

The Raptors improved to slipped to 22-11 while the Thunder improved to 17-15.

Injured Raptors Marc Gasol (hamstring), Pascal Siakam (groin), and Norman Powell (shoulder) have now missed six games, and the Raps are 3-3 without them.

The Raptors will welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers to Scotiabank Arena on New Year’s Eve, before they head out on a two-game trip with games in Miami and Brooklyn.

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