Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the star Canadian point guard from Toronto, Ontario is having a phenomenal season on the basketball court. Even when he may not be playing his best at times during a game, what we saw from Gilgeous-Alexander on Friday night was clutch shooting down the stretch with the game on the line, and the Thunder needing the NBA MVP to deliver when the game was in the balance.
Gilgeous-Alexander was the player on the court in the fourth quarter that the Indiana Pacers simply did not have an answer for. With the Pacers leading the Thunder 97-95 with five minutes left, it was SGA who took OKC on his back for the rest of regulation. Gilgeous-Alexander was simply magnificent. He tied the game at 97 with a five foot two point jump shot with 4:38 left. That was followed by two more free throws to pull the Thunder within a basket with 3:34 left, a three-point shot with 2:58 left, and an extra challenging field goal on a step back jump shot 0nly 35 seconds later to put the Thunder up 104-103. Then in the dying minutes, the Thunder defense went to work, and Gilgeous-Alexander made five free throws en route to a 111-104 victory to tie the NBA Finals at two wins apiece.
At the end of the game, Gilgeous-Alexander had 35 points to lead the team. Three more Thunder players reached double digits in points. Small forward Jalen Williams of Denver, Colorado had 27 points, shooting guard Alex Caruso of College Station, Texas had 20 points off the bench, and center Chet Holmgren of Minneapolis, Minnesota had a double-double as he had 15 rebounds and 14 points. The NBA Finals now shifts to Oklahoma City for game five on Monday.
