Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 'masterpiece' earns flowers from Thunder's Mark Daigneault
12/27/2024 01:54 PM
As the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers Thursday night, it was led by a sensational performance from star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The guard would receive praise from such as his Thunder teammate Chet Holmgren and especially from his head coach Mark Daigneault as he spoke about the outing after the game.
Gilgeous-alexander would finish the game with a whopping 45 points (ties career-high) on 15 for 22 shooting from the field, including four of five from deep, along with eight assists and seven rebounds. Daigneault would call his showcase a “masterpiece” according to ESPN, which gives Oklahoma City another win.
“Everybody seemed to make a big play for us tonight that we really needed on a night where we were playing a very hot opponent,” Daigneault said. “With that said, Shai was outstanding tonight. That was a masterpiece. I mean, he was at his own pace the entire night. I thought he moved it out of the early helps and got his teammates activated, but great blend of passing and attacking, great blend of shooting and attacking. He just had total control of the wheel tonight.”
Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on his clutch moments
The game would be close as the Thunder had the ball with 59 seconds left in a one-possession contest against the Pacers and there was no doubt that the ball would go to Gilgeous-Alexander for the dagger. He would connect on it as the star would talk about preparing for those moments and even teammates such as Kenrich Williams expressed how in those clutch situations, it’s critical to get in his spots according to The Oklahoman.
"Those are the moments, the times when I trust my work and try to do what they pay me for," Gilgeous-Alexander said.
"Yeah, he's usually calling for the ball," Williams said. "He usually waits to do that until the fourth quarter. … I wouldn't say it's like a switch, but it's just a little more urgency to get to his spots and get to his bread and butter."
Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on perfecting his repertoire
Still, fans would argue how the Thunder aren’t being popularized by the league despite their success in recent seasons, especially now that they are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. On the other hand, Gilgeous-Alexander realizes that “you gotta go get it” about the attention.
"That's something we cannot control, so giving time and energy to do it is something I just don't do,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We can't pout about it. You don't get something you want in life, you gotta go get it."
Looking at how versatile of a player Gilgeous-Alexander is, there is still one aspect that he wants to hone in on, being his work in the post. Per The Oklahoman, assistant coach Nate Mitchell had been sending film of such dynamic scorers as Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, and Tracy McGrady who had that aspect down pact as the Thunder star spoke about being a complete offensive player.
"Those guys are very versatile in how they score, and they come at you in multiple ways," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "That's just a thing I'm trying to master. I'm trying to check all the boxes as an offensive player."
Oklahoma City is 24-5 as their next game is Saturday evening against the Charlotte Hornets.
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