For the second time in seven days, OKC Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was found dropping 50+ points Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors, as he finished with a whopping 52, 21 of which came in the first quarter.
Unfortunately, despite it being the second-highest scoring output of his professional career, Oklahoma City succumbed to a heartbreaking loss to Stephen Curry (21 points on 50 percent shooting from deep) and company, falling by a final score of 116-109.
In an 82-game season, it's understood that a team can't win every single night. However, SGA admitted postgame that this outcome against the Dubs "feels a lot worse" than previous losses due to the expectations that inherently come with being the top seed in the Western Conference.
Amid his defeated demeanor post-loss presser, the Thunder star opened up about his performance, noting that while his scoring output may be impressive on paper, it may not have been what the team needed from him to come away with a win.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander says Thunder needed more than just 52 points
"It sucks. Me personally, I play to win. Winning comes first and foremost. If I don't win, I'm not satisfied. So maybe my 52 points tonight wasn't in the best interest of the team," Gilgeous-Alexander said.
As alluded to earlier, Gilgeous-Alexander kicked off the contest red hot, as he outscored the Warriors' 20 first-quarter points all on his own, missing just one shot along the way. He would only further his dominance in the second, pushing his point total to 31 and having the Thunder up 58-48 heading into the half.
Unfortunately, coming out of the break the Warriors' defense clamped down on the All-Star, forcing him to miss his first four shot attempts and challenging others to step up their output in the scoring department.
To the delight of Golden State, the Thunder's supporting cast did not respond as needed.
Holding SGA to just 12 points on 3-for-9 shooting, the Dubs clawed their way back into the game and tied things up by the end of the third at 84-84. Their momentum rolled right along into the fourth where, behind Curry's three made triples and the 12 points he was directly responsible for (scoring and assisting), they pulled ahead for good.
Gilgeous-Alexander stressed during his presser that, considering the way Wednesday's game played out, his scoring accomplishment means very little to him. Instead, in response to the loss, he plans to "watch the game over" to see if he can pinpoint areas of his play that could have been better and, in turn, may have helped lead Oklahoma City to a win.
With this game, the Warriors have officially become just the second team this season to beat the Thunder on multiple occasions, with the only other club to do so being the Dallas Mavericks.
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