Even though he is the best scorer in the NBA, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is not a “scorekeeper”. He is not a Kobe Bryant, a Michael Jordan or even a Damian Lillard, players capable of very big successes. SGA's strength is its consistency around 30 – 35 points, but last night, it finally reached the 50 point mark. Against Jazz, he even scored 54 points, his new career record.
“I think I could have scored a lot more, and I know that’s going to sound very pretentious” he reacted after the Thunder victory. “I feel like I didn't really have that good a match, I left a few points along the way; but there is still room for improvement, and that is a good thing. “.
If Gilgeous-Alexander believes he could have done much better, it's because he finished the game 17 out of 35 on shots, including 3 out of 10 from 3-point range. But he didn't just shoot as he added 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 interceptions and 2 blocks. Above all, it was already at 41 points at the end of the 3rd quarter, and OKC really needed its points in the 4th quarter since the Jazz were only trailing by one point seven minutes from time. END.
The first Thunder player since 2017
It's him, two minutes from the end, on a “pull-up jumper” for which he has the secret, who kills Utah's hopes. It is also this basket which allows him to reach 50 points for the first time.
“The box of cookies is open, and he can dip his hands in them whenever he wants” declared Mark Daigneault about this 50 point mark. But it's not so easy to reach that threshold when your team is outclassing its opponents, and you can afford to sit still in the 4th quarter. But this time, it's the right one, and SGA becomes the 3rd player in Thunder history to score 50 points or more. He is the first since Russell Westbrook in 2017, and the current Nuggets point guard maintains his franchise record with 58 points.
