Player grades: SGA scores career-high 42 points and hits game-winner in 121-120 win over Wizards

SGA with his first MVP moment of the season in DC.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is him.

After having his previous MVP moment stolen by the Milwaukee Bucks, Gilgeous-Alexander regained it against the Washington Wizards.

For the Thunder’s 121-120 win over the Wizards, Gilgeous-Alexander will be the headliner. He hit the game-winning step-back 3 with 1.9 seconds left in the game. The 3-pointer gave him a career-high tying 42 points.

The mildly quiet Wizards crowd was silenced by the shot.

It looked as though the Wizards were on the verge of winning their fifth-consecutive game after Bradley Beal, who returned after a five-game absence due to health and safety protocols, hit a baseline fading-midrange shot to give the Wizards the two-point lead with 6.1 seconds left.

Clearly, it was just not meant to be Beal’s night. Gilgeous-Alexander stole the spotlight four seconds later with his own high-level difficulty shot.

Even though their team lost on a heartbreaker, the Wizards crowd couldn’t help appreciating the greatness they witnessed with Gilgeous-Alexander’s performance. They chanted “MVP” following the game.

At this point, Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the best players in the league, and the more he plays, the more eyes are drawn to Oklahoma City.

The Thunder are slowly creeping back into the national conversation and Gilgeous-Alexander playing like an MVP candidate is responsible for that.

Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.