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Even Mark Daigneault can’t believe Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 40 while sick
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- Even Mark Daigneault can’t believe Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 40 while sick
The post Even Mark Daigneault can't believe Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 40 while sick appeared first on ClutchPoints .
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dragged himself to the arena feeling sick . He left it with 40 points, another win, and a head coach shaking his head in disbelief.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder star powered a 113-105 NBA Cup victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, extending Oklahoma City's winning streak to 10 games and bumping its record to a ridiculous 18-1. He did it while listed as questionable with an illness, then proceeded to torch Minnesota for 40 points on 12-of-19 shooting and 15-of-17 from the line, adding six rebounds, six assists, and three steals via the ESPN Box Score.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault almost sounded amused afterward. "He gave us a huge offensive lift tonight. We just had a hard time offensively there, and he kinda carried us for a little stretch," Daigneault told reporters.
Gilgeous-Alexander's surge in the second quarter steadied an Oklahoma City offense that briefly stalled and turned a tight game into another familiar Thunder push.
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Minnesota refused to fold. Anthony Edwards dropped 31 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, as the Timberwolves cut a 15-point deficit to 106-103 with under a minute left. But Chet Holmgren calmly buried a late 3-pointer, and Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down four free throws to close it out.
Holmgren finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, Isaiah Hartenstein added 15 points off the bench, and Ajay Mitchell chipped in 13 as the Thunder again leaned on their depth with Jalen Williams and Aaron Wiggins sidelined .
The Timberwolves will kick themselves over the details. They shot just 59.5 percent at the free-throw line and squandered several chances to fully flip momentum in the fourth. Against this version of Oklahoma City, those mistakes feel fatal.
Everyone knows what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wants to do, and nobody can stop it, not even a nasty bug, and certainly not another Western Conference hopeful.
Related: What Mark Daigneault wants Thunder to be better at after close call vs. Timberwolves
Related: Thunder's Jalen Williams gets encouraging day-to-day update
