Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 'unexpected' take on Isaiah Joe

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When Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe went through a brief slump, All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knew the turnaround was inevitable. Gilgeous-Alexander said Joe was 'too good' to stay in a slump for long after scoring a season-high 31 points in a 126-101 victory against the New York Knicks. Shai discussed Isaiah's emergence after the Thunder defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 118-102.

Joe finished with 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting, including a pair of threes off the bench. He helped the Thunder fend off a 76ers second-half run that sliced a 24-point deficit down to six heading into the final frame. After the win, Gilgeous-Alexander addressed Joe's impact on Oklahoma City.

"Isaiah Joe is spectacular for our group," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "He came over a little bit unexpected. From day one, he's been a worker. He plugs away at it. He obviously didn't play much at first. When his time [came], he took full advantage of it. So, obviously, he's in the rotation heavy because of that. He just works hard. He knows what he does every night. He does it at a high level. It makes it easy for the rest of the group because we know what we're going to get from him.

"We know how he plays, where his spots are. [He's] a very, very good shooter. So, that always helps out there."

Philadelphia outscored the Thunder 38-29 after halftime. Fortunately for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City's lackluster third-quarter performance didn't carry over into a troublesome fourth.

"It's basketball. It's nothing deeper than that," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Trying to be aggressive, making the wrong play. You have moments like that throughout the season. Obviously, we're not a team that turns the ball over much. But we're not perfect; we're going to make mistakes, and tonight, it looked like that. As long as we don't turn it into a habit, we're going to be fine. It's just a bad batch of basketball for a little bit."

Mark Daigneault's honest take on Isaiah Joe's career shooting night

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Head coach Mark Daingeault wasn’t surprised by Thunder Isaiah Joe's shooting display, nor was Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Connecting on a career-high eight threes while coming up two points shy of his career-high 33 points (31), Joe put on a scoring clinic against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

"We know he's capable of it. He's had it before, and he hasn't shot the ball this season the way he's wanted to," Daigneault said. "We were kind of waiting for a game like this. At least I was. It was about a matter of time. Great confidence by him."

After finishing their four-game road trip 3-1, the Thunder will host the Cavs at the Paycom Center on Thursday night.

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