Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the OKC Thunder confronted a troublesome problem Wednesday evening as they took on the defending champion Boston Celtics with out first-time All-Star Jalen Williams. The versatile guard-forward didn’t journey with the crew to Boston and will miss the whole thing of their three-game street journey this week.
“SGA” delivered an MVP-level efficiency, pouring in a game-high 34 factors to guide the Thunder to a hard-fought 118-112 victory, securing a postseason berth.
He carried a heavy scoring load early on. He dropped 11 factors within the first quarter, serving to OKC maintain a 33-30 lead after 12 minutes, even because the Celtics caught hearth from past the arc, flattening 9 3s.
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The Thunder’s bench performed a key function in protecting them within the recreation throughout a back-and-forth second quarter, with Boston sustaining its sizzling capturing.
“SGA” capped off the primary half with 5 factors throughout a closing 7-3 run, together with a buzzer-beater that marked his 10,000th profession level, to ship OKC into halftime with a 63-60 benefit.
Within the second half, “SGA” made essential performs to cease each Celtics surge. Over the ultimate seven minutes of the fourth quarter, he scored or assisted on 13 of the Thunder’s final 17 factors to seal the win.
Beneath are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s full stats.
Mark Daigneault sees shades of Steph Curry in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The OKC Thunder and Golden State Warriors have been a part of a number of memorable battles this season. Throughout All-Star Weekend in February, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was requested concerning the face-of-the-NBA debate and took a second to reward Warriors celebrity Steph Curry — not only for his on-court dominance, however for his management and character.
“As his star has gotten brighter, it is virtually like he is develop into a greater ambassador, higher member of the group, higher face of the franchise, higher teammate, increased character. That is the sense I get from a distance, simply observing him,” Daigneault stated (per OKC Thunder Wire).
He then drew a comparability to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, crediting his maturity and regular rise within the league.
“I believe we’ve a man like that. He is been very spectacular as a result of he is had a quick and virtually linear ascent within the NBA and has accomplished it in stride and with nice humility,” Daigneault stated.
“Behind closed doorways and inside the environment, he is virtually extra spectacular once you get him round him like that. It isn’t an endorsement of something like that. I simply have unbelievable confidence in Shai and what he is able to.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Steph Curry had been the highest two guards on this yr’s All-Star voting. Each are on monitor for All-NBA choices, with “SGA” rising as a frontrunner for MVP.
Edited by John Ezekiel Hirro