Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stats: OKC outshines Kyrie Irving and Dallas Mavericks through robust defense
Two-time NBA All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for the OKC Thunder in their 126-119 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at home on Thursday. 'SGA' filled up the stat sheet in the bounce-back win.
OKC was coming off a tough loss to the Indiana Pacers in their previous game. He came up with a thorough performance on both ends of the court against the erstwhile streaking Mavericks, who played sans resident superstar Luka Doncic because of a hamstring issue.
At the forefront of the Thunder attack was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who tallied a stat line of 31 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals in 37 minutes of play. It was his second straight 30-plus point game and 10th in the last 12 games.
Below is the full stat line of the 25-year-old star point guard out of the University of Kentucky against the Mavericks on Thursday:
Gilgeous-Alexander's stellar showing helped offset the big night of Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving, who also had himself a ball game with 36 points and a season-high 12 assists to cushion the absence of Doncic.
The Thunder also got quality output from Jalen Williams, who finished with 27 points and three blocks and Josh Giddey with 18 points and five assists.
The game was close throughout but the Thunder stayed the course with their defense that forced the Mavericks to 30 turnovers and then picking up their scoring in the third quarter to create some distance.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander proud of his team for hanging tough against Mavericks
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is proud of how the OKC Thunder handled their tough game against the Dallas Mavericks at home on Thursday. He underscored that despite far from being fluid collectively, they were able to band together and pull off the 126-119 victory.
The two-time NBA All-Star led the way for the Thunder but got ample support from the rest of the team on both ends of the court, with four other players scoring in double digits and forcing the Mavericks to some telling miscues.
In the post-game on-court interview, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shared his thoughts on their performance against Dallas and what did it for them.
He said:
"Persistence. Resilience. We have a game plan that we like to follow every night. We [frayed] from it a little bit tonight but we got to it enough to get the W."
The victory improved the Thunder's record to 46-20, tying the defending NBA champions Denver Nuggets for the best record in the Western Conference.
OKC next plays on Saturday, where it will be going up against the Memphis Grizzlies on the road.