Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 17 points in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 96-84 home win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night, ending his NBA-record streak of 20-point games. It was the first time since Oct. 30, 2024, a span of 141 regular-season games, that he failed to reach 20 points.
Gilgeous-Alexander had scored 32 points in a convincing win over San Antonio on Tuesday night. Against Denver, he shot just 6 of 19 from the field. He had just under two minutes left to add three more points and extend the streak. But with Oklahoma City leading 93-76 and 1:43 remaining, he asked Thunder coach Mark Daigneault to take him out.
“I was going to go out there, and then I saw that [the Nuggets] had subbed, so I thought we should sub, too,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “You always treat the game with respect.”
Daigneault said he wanted to leave Gilgeous-Alexander in the game because a “historic streak” was on the line, and he praised his star’s maturity.
“I just think of the class that it shows and the perspective that it shows for him to say, ‘Hey, I’m out now. The game’s calling for me to be subbed out,'” Daigneault said. “That was his substitution. And of all the things that I admire about him, that’s toward the top of the list in terms of moments that I appreciate about him.”
A Tough Night From the Field
The two-time reigning league MVP missed all seven of his shots in the first 24 minutes, while the Thunder trailed by as many as nine points. A pair of free throws kept him from going scoreless in a half for the first time since his rookie season with the LA Clippers in 2019. It was just the fourth time in 450 games with the Thunder that he had gone without a field goal in a half.
He scored the first basket of the third quarter to pull Oklahoma City to 48-46. A layup by Ajay Mitchell then gave the Thunder a 64-62 lead, their first since the opening minutes of the game. Three-pointers by Alex Caruso and Gilgeous-Alexander pushed the margin to 70-64 after three quarters. Oklahoma City extended its advantage to 93-76 on a 3-pointer by Gilgeous-Alexander, which gave him 17 points with 1:44 left. He then asked to come out during a timeout and did not return.
Supporting Cast Carries Oklahoma City
Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 21 points, and Chet Holmgren added 12 points and 17 rebounds. For Denver, which was playing its first game of the season, Aaron Gordon scored 20 points, and Nikola Jokic and DeMar DeRozan each added 13.