Thunder All-Star Gilgeous-Alexander's honest take after scoring 52 points vs Warriors
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After outscoring the Golden State Warriors in the first quarter, guiding his team to a 14-point lead (34-20), Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 of his game-high 52 points in the opening frame. It came in a losing effort as the Warriors pulled to within ten (58-48) by halftime before scoring 36 in the third quarter to tie the game. Then, Golden State strung together defensive stops while outscoring its opponent by seven in the final frame.
After Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 54 points, he expressed his disappointment in his 52-point performance, which resulted in a 116-109 loss to the Warriors, per the Oklahomann’s Joel Lorenzi.
"It sucks. Me personally, I play to win. Winning comes first and foremost," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "If I don't win, I'm not satisfied. So maybe my 52 points tonight wasn't in the best interest of the team, whatever it is. I'll watch the game over. See where I could have been better and try to win the game; that's what's most important. So, I'm not satisfied. This doesn't feel nearly as good as the other one did because of the outcome."
Shai on scoring 52 in a loss: "It sucks. Me personally, I play to win. Winning comes first. If I don't win, I'm not satisfied. So maybe my 52 points tonight wasn't in the best interest of the team, whatever it is." pic.twitter.com/Yn1J4o9i0n
— Joel Lorenzi (@jxlorenzi) January 30, 2025
Gilgeous-Alexander went 16-for-29 from the floor, including 18-of-21 from the free-throw line and 2-of-3 from deep. He also finished with four assists, three rebounds, and one steal. Jalen Williams added 26 points, scoring seven straight in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. He also finished with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block.
After going 1-for-7 from the floor in the first half, Warriors superstar Stephen Curry went off in the second half to finish with 21 points on 6-of-15 attempts, including 5-of-10 from deep. Andrew Wiggins scored a team-high 27 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's take on scoring 54 points in Thunder win
Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said his 54-point performance wasn't his best. Despite it coming in a 123-114 win against the Jazz, he thinks he could have had a better game.
"I feel like I wasn't my best tonight, regardless of what the scoreboard says," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I feel like I could have did better — offensively, shot-making, a little bit, and on a couple of reads. But that comes with the game; you're not going to be perfect all the time. I feel like I've had better games this season, even though it didn't look like it on the scoresheet. That's just me chasing growth as opposed to an outcome, and that's where that comes from."
The Thunder return home to host the Kings on Saturday.
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