Shai scores 45 points taking full control of OKC without Holmgren: "There are many things that can be improved"

After having the best scoring game of his professional career, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did not consider it a special night. In the first game of the Oklahoma City Thunder after losing Chet Holmgren for at least two months due to a hip fracture, Shai scored a personal record of 45 points, along with 9 assists and 5 steals, to lead his team to a 134-126 victory over the LA Clippers in front of 17,430 fans at the Paycom Center.

"It didn't feel special," he commented on his fourteenth 40-point game in his career. "I didn't feel like I had done something I hadn't done before. It just felt like another basketball game. I felt like I should have scored more, missed some easy shots, but that's the game."

Perhaps the performance didn't feel extraordinary to him because Gilgeous-Alexander is focused on a bigger goal. After reaching the second round last season, only to lose to the Mavericks as the top seed in the West, his focus is on better preparing the Thunder (9-2) and his young teammates for a deeper playoff run. "I'm not saying this to belittle my teammates," he explained. "But I feel like the end of our last season, for many of them, was their first time in the playoffs and playing such important games. I don't mean they weren't ready, but I think I could have prepared them better in terms of taking certain shots and being more comfortable in certain positions on the court, especially offensively."

Gilgeous-Alexander's concern is not unwarranted. After seeing Holmgren take a hard fall in a loss to the Warriors resulting in a hip fracture, he and his teammates had to adapt quickly and be ready to play against the Clippers without some of their big men: Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein (fractured left hand), and Jaylin Williams (hamstring injury) were out. "We've played like this before," Gilgeous-Alexander said about the challenge of playing with a smaller lineup. "We've won games playing without height, and we can do it again."

Shai, the key player in the match

During the game, the Thunder had a 20-point lead before the Clippers started a comeback that brought them within two points with 42.3 seconds remaining. Norman Powell, the Clippers' guard, continued his strong start to the season by scoring 29 of his 31 points in the second half. But Gilgeous-Alexander scored 10 points in the final five and a half minutes, including two free throws that halted the Clippers' run in the closing seconds. Ty Lue, the Clippers' coach, had mentioned before the game that Gilgeous-Alexander is already at a level where he can take control in crucial moments, just like some of the greatest, such as Michael Jordan.

Gilgeous-Alexander became the first player in Thunder/SuperSonics franchise history to record at least 45 points and five steals in a game, but for him, that's just a step towards his long-term goal. "When we lost to Dallas, I thought about the reasons and, obviously, there are many things that can be improved," he said. "But I can only control what's in my hands, and I try to look at it from that perspective. Many people don't realize until it's too late. And I don't want it to be too late, so I tried to address it early."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Shai clava 45 puntos tomando todo el control de OKC sin Holmgren: "Hay muchas cosas que se pueden mejorar"