Laying his hands on his knees, breathing in deep breaths, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was exhausted. Beyond exhausted, really. But the two-time MVP winner knows this is just part of his grueling mission to keep his squad relevant in the title picture until help arrives. The OKC crowd recognized that, too — as it showered him with MVP chants.
The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to build up positive momentum with a 124-116 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. They're adjusting to life without Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace for the foreseeable future.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 42 points on 11-of-26 shooting, eight assists and four rebounds. He shot 5-of-11 from 3 and went 15-of-19 on free throws. He also had one block.
After Luka Doncic's
fanbase paraded the social media streets to celebrate Gilgeous-Alexander's demise, the 28-year-old quickly reminded the NBA world why he's been smack-dab in the middle of the 'best player in the world' conversation. Back-to-back 40-burgers are quite the heavy reminder. Especially considering the dire health circumstances the Thunder are dealing with for the foreseeable future.
After just 10 points in the first half, Gilgeous-Alexander was cruel to give the Cavaliers false hope of a normal night. The walking 30-point bucket perfectly read the room. No more messing around with stepback 3-pointers. Especially since Cleveland quickly sliced OKC's lead from 20-plus to single digits. The second half was one of his more masterful one-on-one performances of the year. And perhaps kickstarted his annual MVP campaign.
It was a return to form for Gilgeous-Alexander. No more junk-food-esque outside jumpers. Instead, he dissected Cleveland's defense within the perimeter. He buried them with a handful of demoralizing mid-range jumpers he rainbowed in. He also slithered his way around contact for fancy finishes at the rim. Putting the Cavaliers in panic mode, he also forced them to give up his highest free-throw total of the season.
"I've taken what they've been giving me. I've just been able to find shots, shots that I like," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Whether they go in or out, I'm going to take them when I find shots that I like. In the past two games, I've just happened to find more than usual."
It was basketball poetry in motion. Like watching da Vinci paint the Mona Lisa. When Gilgeous-Alexander gets into a scoring zone like that, he's impossible to slow down. He absorbs bumps and bounces off guys. He's made it a habit to nail highly-difficult jumpers in motion. His scoring superpowers left the Cavaliers desperate with 10 free-throw attempts in the final frame alone.
The Thunder are going to likely need Gilgeous-Alexander to play like this for the next two months. Sure, he was able to be on cruise control in the first half. But once the role players crashed back down to Earth a little, the two-time MVP winner went to work to ensure the victory. A 32-point second half quickly made a frustrating first half a distant memory. That's 85 points scored in the last two games. Once again, we're seeing one of the greatest scorers ever at the peak of his powers.
"Regardless, winning in the NBA is very hard. I feel the same way. Now, I said last game, it's been a different challenge to go win the games," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "But this group, over the past years, no matter who's out there, has found a way to go do that. No matter what. We've been able to do so the last two nights."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to be 1-man show in OKC's win over Cavaliers
