Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 17 points in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 96-84 home win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night, ending his NBA-record streak of 20-point games. It was his first game with fewer than 20 points in nearly two years.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 32 points in a convincing win over San Antonio on Tuesday night, shot just 6 of 19 from the field against Denver. He had not scored fewer than 20 points since Oct. 30, 2024, a span of 141 regular-season games.
With just under two minutes left, Gilgeous-Alexander had a chance to add three more points and extend the streak. But Oklahoma City led 93-76 with 1:43 remaining, and he asked Thunder coach Mark Daigneault to take him out.
A Decision Built on Respect
“I was going to go out there, and then I saw that [the Nuggets] had subbed, so I thought we should sub, too,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “You always treat the game with respect.”
Daigneault said he wanted to keep Gilgeous-Alexander in the game because a “historic streak” was on the line. He praised his star’s maturity instead.
“I just think of the class that it shows and the perspective that it shows for him to say, ‘Hey, I’m out now. The game’s calling for me to be subbed out,'” Daigneault said. “That was his substitution. And of all the things that I admire about him, that’s toward the top of the list in terms of moments that I appreciate about him.”
A Quiet First Three Quarters
The league’s two-time reigning MVP missed all seven of his shots in the first 24 minutes, while the Thunder trailed by as many as nine points. A pair of free throws kept him from going scoreless in a half for the first time since his rookie season with the LA Clippers in 2019. It was only the fourth time in 450 games with Oklahoma City that he had gone without a field goal in a half.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored the first basket of the third quarter to pull the Thunder to 48-46. Ajay Mitchell’s layup later gave Oklahoma City a 64-62 lead, its first since the opening minutes of the game. Threes from Alex Caruso and Gilgeous-Alexander pushed the lead to 70-64 after three quarters. Gilgeous-Alexander then hit a 3-pointer to make it 93-76 and give himself 17 points with 1:44 left.
Key Contributors
Aaron Gordon led Denver with 20 points, while Nikola Jokic and DeMar DeRozan added 13 apiece in the Nuggets’ first game of the season.
Jalen Williams scored 21 points for Oklahoma City. Chet Holmgren finished with 12 points and 17 rebounds.