{"id":1946891,"date":"2026-05-21T11:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T08:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1946891"},"modified":"2026-05-21T11:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T08:00:17","slug":"shai-gilgeous-alexander-shook-off-game-1-struggles-and-forged-an-mvp-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1946891","title":{"rendered":"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shook off Game 1 struggles and forged an MVP moment"},"content":{"rendered":"
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OKLAHOMA CITY \u2014 The stepback, then the follow-through, came with a sneer. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earned the right to flash this look through repetition. He had the privilege of pulling from the same spot, 19 feet out, three times in as many minutes, hoisting middies that allowed him to carry the Oklahoma City Thunder in the clutch.<\/p>\n

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He extended his palm to Jared McCain, pumping the proverbial brakes after securing Wednesday\u2019s 122-113 Game 2 win<\/a> over the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals from his sweet spot. Gilgeous-Alexander was justified in getting explicit. Calm the f\u2014 down, he shouted to the 22-year-old in the backcourt.<\/p>\n

\u201cJared was yelling at me while I was shooting,\u201d the Thunder star said, \u201cand I was like, \u2018Bro, I\u2019m shooting. Don\u2019t distract me.\u2019 I was literally just telling Jared to calm down.\u201d<\/p>\n

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From the start of Game 2, Gilgeous-Alexander had noticeably decided that he\u2019d refuse to play into the hands of San Antonio\u2019s coverages while also reclaiming his favorite shots. The shot charts from Games 1 and 2 amplified OKC\u2019s defiance.<\/p>\n

In Game 1, clusters of data points directed the Thunder toward shots from the corner in hopes of luring Victor Wembanyama from the basket, while rim attempts were scarce and fruitless. Game 2 brought more diversity to their attack. SGA and the Thunder chose not to be moved from the elbows and wings or denied a path into the key so often. They shot 53.8 percent in the paint, after hitting 43.2 percent on Monday. They made 55.2 percent of their 2-pointers, up from 42.9 percent in that double-overtime loss.<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander earned 24 of his 30 points on 2s after going just 5 of 16 on those looks in Game 1, grotesque for a guard with his touch. He totaled nine assists and one turnover and was a plus-14 in 38 minutes, showing the efficiency that let him rule the regular season.<\/p>\n

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Coach Mark Daigneault detailed that, to free SGA up from defenders as physical as Stephon Castle and as lengthy as Wembanyama, the Thunder needed to run more intentional offensive sets that wouldn\u2019t just serve as the valve for a superstar, but open the floodgates for a struggling offense. SGA needed space. He needed spots to choose, not dead-ends that forced him into difficult decisions.<\/p>\n

In Gilgeous-Alexander\u2019s eyes, he only needed reps.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI guess I just have sucked when I get too long of a break,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s anything other than that. I don\u2019t know. I guess I gotta do a better job with my breaks, especially during the playoffs. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s anything other than that, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bar for an MVP\u2019s rubbish rests higher than even Wembanyama\u2019s reach. It\u2019s an unforgiving expectation to have of oneself. This 6-foot-6, historically low-turnover machine with astronomical 2-point efficiency demands more than he initially provided against Castle and San Antonio\u2019s incessant double teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf his idea of sucking is that high of a level of basketball,\u201d All-Star Chet Holmgren said, \u201cI feel like everybody would wish that they sucked the same way that Shai did.\u201d<\/p>\n

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His field-goal attempts brushing up with his point total isn\u2019t his steez. It\u2019s beneath him. His gravity, which draws nine other sets of eyes and sends at least two defenders toward him, grants him some options amid the obsessive coverages he\u2019s seen in these playoffs. His teammates eat, the offense continues, and, eventually, he might get his.<\/p>\n

But Game 1 was the rare occurrence when a defender, up until the fourth quarter, seemed to truly level him. Castle on the perimeter, Wembanyama at the rim. SGA played so uncharacteristically in Game 1 that he wrapped around Wemby in frustration after short-arming a floater.<\/p>\n

Game 2 brought out the best version of Gilgeous-Alexander. Urgency brings him equilibrium. Down 2-1 versus the Denver Nuggets. Down 2-1 versus the Indiana Pacers. The unconsciousness of Game 4, again down 2-1, versus the Dallas Mavericks in 2024. It\u2019s a pattern.<\/p>\n

\u201cNaturally speaking, waking up this morning we were probably more desperate than they were,\u201d he said. \u201cJust naturally, because we had to get this game or else we\u2019d go on the road down 0-2.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight we just had no choice but to play to our strengths, or else.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shot 12 of 24 from the floor in Game 2, scoring 30 points and adding nine assists. (Alex Slitz \/ Getty Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s the \u201cor else\u201d that truly ignites Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder\u2019s best lineup in Game 2 \u2014 SGA, McCain, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein \u2014 was defined by haste.<\/p>\n

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McCain, inaccurately depicted by his 4-of-14 shooting, was gutsy. He dove and recovered crucial loose balls. He chucked reasonable 3-pointers, with the nerve to attempt to break the game open. He threw Jalen Williams a lob before the All-NBA forward exited the game in the first quarter<\/a> and did not return.<\/p>\n

Wallace exhibited elite hustle, muscling rebounds that seemed unfit for his biceps to extend possessions or capping others with 3s. Caruso\u2019s impact in this series feels Herculean<\/a>. He guards up to a foot taller than him, hits all the deep shots he didn\u2019t during the regular season and disrupts so many plays.<\/p>\n

Hartenstein doubled his minutes, limiting Wembanyama after it had felt impossible 48 hours earlier. He also snagged extra possessions, collecting almost as many offensive boards (eight) as the Thunder grabbed total (nine) on Monday.<\/p>\n

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What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
\n \"Thunder<\/p>\n
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\n Thunder remember what Isaiah Hartenstein can do in time for big Game 2 performance\n <\/div>\n
\n Oklahoma City’s big man played just 12 minutes in Game 1 but brought his physicality to Game 2 against Victor Wembanyama.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The five outscored the Spurs 14-0 in a 2:51 spurt. Wembanyama had spooked many Thunder players out of drives and interior decisions in Game 1, but those suddenly seemed available in abundance in Game 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no panic. It\u2019s the first to four, it\u2019s a series for a reason,\u201d Caruso said. \u201cYou got to go out and lace them up and play the next game. Until some team\u2019s at four, there\u2019s more basketball to be played, and I think that mentality (comes) from our whole team but really from (Glgeous-Alexander). It doesn\u2019t change with the moment for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that affects all of us, where we have the same mindset,\u201d guard Ajay Mitchell said of SGA. \u201cWe\u2019re ready to go. He\u2019s a killer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander pressed that button repeatedly, especially when he shot his stepback over Castle. He aimed to retrieve his spots and his space.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t need any help being confident,\u201d Caruso said. \u201cI just try to tell him, even the other game, telling him, \u2018Take us home.\u2019 That\u2019s what he does.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s McCain\u2019s first playoff run, and Wednesday was one of the few times he\u2019s been beside Gilgeous-Alexander late. But he learned.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t shout at SGA when he\u2019s putting. Let him take it home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OKLAHOMA CITY \u2014 The stepback, then the follow-through, came with a sneer. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earned the right to flash this look through repetition. He had the privilege of pulling from the same spot, 19 feet out, three times in as many minutes, hoisting middies that allowed him to carry the Oklahoma City Thunder in the […]<\/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-1946891","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\/1946891","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=1946891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1946891\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1946891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1946891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1946891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}