Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder deliver a disciplined performance in Game 1 victory over the Pelicans.
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The Thunder led by 10 early in the 4th quarter. Then the drought began.
OKC went more than five minutes without making a shot, as New Orleans used an 18-6 run to take a two-point lead with under two minutes to play.
A Game 1 win for the No. 1 seed was slipping away.
But Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t going to let it happen.
In a minute, Gilgeous-Alexander shook loose from defensive standout Herb Jones to tie the game with a contested 20-footer … then, with all eyes on him, split the defense to hit a 13-footer And-1 to give OKC the lead for good.
Watched the plays? Good. Because those two shots illustrate why Gilgeous-Alexander — a finalist for the Kia MVP — was also named a finalist for Kia Clutch Player of the Year, which will be awarded on Thursday.
- Gilgeous-Alexander has delivered in closing moments all season long, finishing the regular season with 112 points on 58.1/35.7/89.7 shooting splits, while adding 19 assists to just six turnovers
- OKC went 23-11 in SGA’s 34 clutch games, outscoring opponents by 68 points in his 107 clutch minutes
Remember those clutch shots from Sunday? The midrange pullup and a floater in the paint?
Now look at Gilgeous-Alexander’s clutch shot chart compared to the other two finalists – Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan – as each had different methods for creating clutch buckets
- While Curry (189 pts) and DeRozan(182 pts) have the edge in total points thanks to taking (and making) more shots than SGA, neither shot the ball better than Shai
- Clutch True Shooting Pct: SGA 70.7%, Curry 69.0%, DeRozan 62.5%
What’s in store tonight when OKC hosts New Orleans in Game 2? Find out on TNT at 9:30 p.m. ET.
