Source: Soobum Im / Getty
The Golden State Warriors are barely above .500 on the season, with their most recent victory coming against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It wasn’t an easy win, thanks to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander going off for 52 points, but it was still no match as the Warriors managed to eke out the contest 116-109, partially thanks to Steph Curry‘s 21-point performance.
SGA is an MVP front-runner, and the squad has shown precisely why it is the best team in the Western Conference, having only lost nine games this season.
The 26-year-old was 16-of-29 shooting, a performance fans have come to love this season, where he’s averaging 32.5 points a game.
Even NBA coaching veteran Steve Kerr had some fun with SGA’s performance. After the game, he joked about the challenge of stopping him, even suggesting that OKC head coach Mark Daigneault should have given him a rest to make the win easier on the Warriors.
“I don’t know what to do with Shai,” Kerr told the press, according to ESPN. “I asked Mark [Daigneault] to leave him on the bench for a couple more minutes. He didn’t comply. I Iooked down to Mark and said, ‘You can’t give him like two more minutes. That would be really helpful for us.’ And Mark just laughed.”
“It’s pick your poison with him,” Kerr added. “The good thing for us down the stretch was we had the lead, so we didn’t mind giving up the twos.”
While the 52-point performance was impressive, it was bittersweet for Gilgeous-Alexander because his team lost.
“It sucks. Me personally, I play to win,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Winning comes first and foremost, and if I don’t win, I am not satisfied. So maybe my 52 points tonight wasn’t in the best interest of the team.”
A week ago, he scored a career-high 54 points in a home win against the Utah Jazz. Before the All-Star break begins, OKC plans to take on the Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, and other teams.