OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s return from a five-game absence couldn’t have gone any better for both himself and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In a 129-119 win over the Utah Jazz, Gilgeous-Alexander scored an efficient 38 points. Considering the last time Gilgeous-Alexander played — he scored 39 points against this same team — it looks like he didn’t miss a beat.
“I’m just glad I was able to be out there and help them and I’m just glad we got a dub today,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
It wasn’t all him though — as Gilgeous-Alexander was joined by rookie teammate Jalen Williams in the 30-point club with a career-high 32 points.
Combined together, Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams scored 70 points on 22-of-32 (68.7%) shooting. Add Josh Giddey’s 24 points to that mix and the young trio combined for 94 points on 32-of-48 (66.7%) shooting and went 9-of-13 (69.2%) from 3.
“I think the three of us are all getting better for sure,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “The three of us are a big part of the future here.”
The Thunder started off on a strong note against the Jazz as they grew a 35-20 lead following the opening 12 minutes. Following the first quarter, OKC’s lead against the Jazz never shrank to single digits for the remainder of the night.
The Thunder led by as many as 24 points as they led wire-to-wire once again. In both matchups during this mini-baseball series, the Thunder led throughout the entirety of both games.
“I just thought our guys started the game really well, especially defensively,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “We were up 18-6. We were in our spots and made them earn everything… We forced them to go to jump shots early and took away the easy stuff and it set the tone for the game.”
The Thunder shot 44-of-87 (50.6%) from the field and went 14-of-37 (37.8%) from 3. The Thunder also had a busy night from the free-throw line as they went 27-of-33 (81.8%). Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 19 attempts.
With no Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson and Walker Kessler both collected double-doubles in the loss for the Jazz. Clarkson finished with 18 points and 12 assists while Kessler had 17 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.
After losing five consecutive games out of the All-Star break, the Thunder are winners of two in a row.
Considering the Thunder are opting to see if Gilgeous-Alexander can play through an abdominal strain instead of resting him until it’s fully healed, it looks like the Thunder are all in on their playoff chances.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.