Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reveals biggest 'lesson' from 25-point collapse vs. Timberwolves
Today at 12:24 PM
Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reacted to his team blowing a 25-point lead in a 131-128 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault gave the Timberwolves credit for crawling back from such a large deficit, stating Minnesota’s offense overpowered Oklahoma City. Gilgeous-Alexander blamed his team’s defensive approach down the stretch.
The Thunder blew a 16-point lead with 3:55 left in the fourth quarter. Then, the Timberwolves held Oklahoma City scoreless on a 16-0 run to force overtime and capture an improbable victory. After the loss, Gilgeous-Alexander addressed what went wrong.
“We took our foot off the pedal, obviously, defensively, especially,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Offensively, they were trapping me at half-court. We got a lot of good looks. They just didn’t go in. That’s basketball. You make, and you miss, but defense is something we’ve hung our hat on. And because of our defense, why we were in the position that we were in that game, and we took our foot off the pedal. It’s a lesson to learn.”
The Timberwolves outscored the Thunder 10-7 in the extra period. Jaden McDaniels (27 points, 10 rebounds) led his team in scoring, scoring seven of his 27 in the final minutes of the fourth quarter and in overtime. Naz Reid scored nine of his 22 points down the same stretch, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker provided a boost off the bench with 21 points.
“It hurts in the moment, but we have however many games left, and the 82-game season is an opportunity to get better 82 times, an opportunity to learn,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I’d rather go through being up 16 with three minutes left and losing in our 82-game season than in the playoffs. And if this is what it takes for us to learn, this is what it takes for us to learn. It’s a lesson at the end of the night. We’ll try to get better from it. It’s a game of basketball; it’s a game of life.”
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a game-high 39 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. Jalen Williams added 27 points and six assists, and Aaron Wiggins led the bench with 19 points
Mark Daigneault gives Timberwolves their flowers
While Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch complained that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received too many calls, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault praised the Timberwolves for their incredible comeback.
"They kept playing and ran all the way through the game, and that was a great comeback by them," Daigneault said. "So they deserve to win.”
The Thunder will face the Nets on Wednesday.
The post Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reveals biggest ‘lesson’ from 25-point collapse vs. Timberwolves appeared first on ClutchPoints.
