{"id":1903515,"date":"2026-04-26T10:00:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T07:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1903515"},"modified":"2026-04-26T10:00:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T07:00:45","slug":"sgas-42-point-masterpiece-vs-suns-barely-surprises-thunder-ive-grown-to-expect-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1903515","title":{"rendered":"SGA\u2019s 42-point masterpiece vs. Suns barely surprises Thunder: \u2018I\u2019ve grown to expect it\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PHOENIX \u2014 There\u2019s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Peeking through the proverbial peephole, making a game of walking down the Phoenix Suns like Jack Nicholson in \u201cThe Shining.\u201d Shouting at unassuming teammates, reassuring who\u2019ll listen \u2014 Dillon Brooks, officials, Twitter, the ether \u2014 that he didn\u2019t need free throws after an unrewarded drive in the fourth quarter. A declaration of the level of control he holds over his fate.<\/p>\n

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His first-round series historically serve as feel-outs. But he took the Suns\u2019 season to the morgue Saturday. A slow, methodical, meticulous degradation of a Phoenix defense that tried almost everything to stop him. For four quarters, SGA toggled every lever and button possible, taking command unlike anything in his postseason career to date.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe\u2019s starting to think the game a little more rather than just use his amazing athletic ability and skill to get places,\u201d veteran Alex Caruso said after Oklahoma City\u2019s 121-109 win Saturday, snatching a 3-0 lead in the series. \u201cAnd that\u2019s when you really get to the next level, at least for him and those guys in that category.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir physical tools are obviously a gift. Once you mentally can evaluate, organize, execute, that\u2019s when you really get to another level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander\u2019s ascension is best summarized by how he sneaks up on his peers when they evaluate his dominance. Professional hoopers that have watched him average 30 points for the past four seasons.<\/p>\n

Thunder All-Star Chet Holmgren\u2019s glossy gaze didn\u2019t initially change when hearing Gilgeous-Alexander\u2019s name postgame, not until he was peppered with questions about him to the extent that he required a box score. From the podium, he glanced at the TV on the wall to his right, scanning the stats. Attempting to contextualize the normalcy, his eyes bulged at SGA\u2019s efficiency.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t think we saw anything different tonight than we normally do,\u201d Holmgren began, \u201c\u2026 except he was 15 for 18. It seemed like a pretty normal night, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looks are deceiving. Gilgeous-Alexander totaled a playoff-career high 42 points, effortlessly doing so. He shot 8 of 8 in the paint. He made 14 of his 15 shots from 2-point range and 11 of his 12 free throws. He tallied eight assists and three turnovers in 38 minutes. Phoenix started sturdy 6-foot-1 guard Collin Gillespie on him, ill-fitted for the assignment. It cycled through every available wing, even forcing center Oso Ighodaro to pick him up full court late in the first half.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe tried different matchups,\u201d Phoenix coach Jordan Ott said. \u201cWe tried to take it out of his hands. He had us spinning tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Gilgeous-Alexander found a way to make the postseason feel like a continuation of his regular season. Hoisting the same shots, bending the defense to similar whims. With Jalen Williams sidelined for the indefinite future and Holmgren in foul trouble for the night, Oklahoma City needed to adjust how it would allocate its offense. Its superstar already mulled it all over.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegardless of who\u2019s out there, I get to go out there and play my game,\u201d Gilgeous-Alexander said. \u201cThat\u2019s just the role I have on this team, and my coaches and teammates do a really good job of letting me be in my space.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s well past the point of dictating his on-court terms. His teammates know how to space out, even for such an enigmatic ball handler and unpredictable shotmaker. Gilgeous-Alexander has moved past manipulation.<\/p>\n

The Thunder bench outscored the Suns\u2019 reserves 36-12. Second-year guard Ajay Mitchell chucked a career-high 20 attempts, shot volume not only necessary next to SGA but generated by him. Caruso, in spots he\u2019s found himself in all season, drilled 3s by way of SGA\u2019s passes.<\/p>\n

Rarely does he reach these levels of animation. For a series, Team Canada teammate Brooks has tugged at him every which way for a reaction. \u201cI don\u2019t need it,\u201d which he told the Thunder bench, was his way of acknowledging of a whistle he felt he deserved during a series that\u2019s highlighted his affinity to reach the free-throw line.<\/p>\n

Offered the opportunity to put beef on the grill, to channel Kevin Garnett or Gary Payton, Gilgeous-Alexander spoke like Ned Flanders. On Wednesday, Brooks called him \u201cfrail,\u201d fighting words in most cases. Gilgeous-Alexander turned the other cheek.<\/p>\n

\u201cShoutout Dillon,\u201d he said Saturday, smiling.<\/p>\n

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His approach for the series borders on greed. He now craves control over the cadence of a series, too. To feel the pressure of taking a 3-0 series lead on the road and not lose his grip.<\/p>\n

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For his iteration of the Thunder, Game 3s are usually goners. SGA mulled over the data with his teammates entering this postseason. A daunting deficit in Memphis last April. A loss that put Oklahoma City down 2-1 versus Denver. An uncharacteristic 42-point blowout in Minnesota. On the ropes versus Indiana.<\/p>\n

He wanted to change the tone of this run. This was a start.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Gilgeous-Alexander might\u2019ve distorted the bar at which we evaluate him. For the upper-echelon, the perennial MVP candidates, the performances of a first-round series only reach the desk and sound the alarm if they\u2019ve fallen below their standard. SGA\u2019s consistency has already turned fans\u2019 attention toward future series. But he quietly delivered an all-time outburst in Game 3.<\/p>\n

Only three players in NBA history have shot 15 of 18 in a playoff game, separated by decades: Sam Jones in 1967, Michael Jordan in 1991 and Gilgeous-Alexander on Saturday.<\/p>\n

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Only three players in NBA history have gone 15-of-18 in a playoff game. Sam Jones in 1967, Michael Jordan in 1991 and SGA today. No player has ever shot a higher percentage (83.3%) in a playoff game than those three (minimum 18 attempts).<\/p>\n

\u2014 Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) April 25, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

When he\u2019s remembered as one of the defining players of the 2020s, this game will play on NBA TV\u2019s \u201cHardwood Classics\u201d series on a Sunday afternoon, a game that didn\u2019t alter his legacy but offered a glimpse of his distinguished dominance. Game 3, as low as the stakes might seem for a player chasing a second consecutive title, encapsulated his brilliance.<\/p>\n

He did not need those free throws because, after digging in its bag for crumbs of coverages, Phoenix succumbed to desperation. Nothing worked.<\/p>\n

Game 3 belonged in his grasp.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is why we go the way we go,\u201d Caruso said. \u201cJust not surprised anymore with him. I\u2019ve grown to expect it. And that might be a detriment to him and his greatness, because I do get to see every single night, but it really is magnificent to see his mentality is eternally optimistic. He\u2019s just a killer with his competitive mindset.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is why we go the way we go.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX \u2014 There\u2019s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Peeking through the proverbial peephole, making a game of walking down the Phoenix Suns like Jack Nicholson in \u201cThe Shining.\u201d Shouting at unassuming teammates, reassuring who\u2019ll listen \u2014 Dillon Brooks, officials, Twitter, the ether \u2014 that he didn\u2019t need free throws after an unrewarded drive in the fourth quarter. A […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1903515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1903515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1903515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1903515\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1903515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1903515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1903515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}