The OKC Thunder find themselves amid the league's longest active winning streak at nine straight following Thursday night's triumph over the Indiana Pacers.
Though they got down big early on in the contest, seeing a first-half deficit as large as 15 points, as they've managed to do all season long Oklahoma City stayed focused, determined, and level-headed throughout.
In the end, their brand of perseverance paid off, for they clawed their way back during the final two periods to secure a hard-fought 120-114 win.
Now, though their success on the night was a result of an all-around team effort, unsurprisingly, superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the leading catalyst in their comeback, especially when it came to his offensive production.
SGA dropped 45 points in 38 minutes of action, 16 of which came during the back-and-forth final quarter.
Considering how consistent his high-end scoring prowess has been thus far into the 2024-25 campaign, this turnout should be anything but surprising.
However, his conversion rate from beyond the arc certainly warrants attention, as he shot a lights-out 80.0 percent from distance while cashing home a clutch triple with under a minute to go to push the lead to 114-109 and, with the momentum, essentially seal their fate.
Heading into the regular season, much buzz was drawn around his increased desire to let it fly from deep. Following this mesmerizing performance, the Thunder star opened up about his ongoing efforts throughout the year that led to his late-game shooting heroics.
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets honest about his shooting
"It feels good but that's what the work's about. It went in because I took the shot. In the past I probably would have gotten discouraged by missing one and not shooting it but I like to think I've grown a bit. Obviously trusting my work, making sure I stay true to it. It paid off tonight because of that but it's about continuing to push forward. I'm going to miss some and make some. We always got to stay shooting," Gilgeous-Alexander said.
All net 😮💨 https://t.co/K7s1vUJqkF pic.twitter.com/EQXAnoufhx
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 27, 2024
This year, Gilgeous-Alexander has clearly made it a point to emphasize his shooting stroke from deep, as he's hoisting a career-high 6.2 shots per game from long-range.
Early on, this uptick in attempts appeared to be hurting his efficiency and overall production as a three-point shooting threat, as he was converting on a lowly 32.6 percent of these attempts through the first 23 games of the year, roughly three percentage points lower than last year's mark (35.3).
Of late, however, it seems as if the Thunder star is finally turning the corner. He's been shooting a whopping 45.0 percent from deep since December 10 and, in turn, has bumped up his clip on the season as a whole to 35.4 in the process.
Mental fortitude and confidence to continue trusting his training have played major roles in Gilgeous-Alexander strengthening his status as a three-level scorer.
Whether he comes out slow like he did against the Pacers (shot just twice from deep in the first half) or swinging as he did earlier this week against Miami (took two shots from deep within the first three minutes of action), at the end of the day, his mantra of "always got to stay shooting" appears to be well followed.