MEMPHIS — After beating the Memphis Grizzlies 117-115 in Game 4, completing a 4-0 sweep to advance to the Western Conference semifinals, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren came to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s defense. Despite shooting below 35% in their first-round series, Gilgeous-Alexander dominated the Grizzlies in Game 4 on Saturday.

After the win, Holmgren fired back at Gilgeous-Alexander’s critics, focusing solely on the All-Star’s field-goal percentage while overlooking every other facet of SGA’s game.

“I don’t know where this ups and downs thing is coming from. I think he played a hell of a series,” Holmgren said. “I feel like he was out there making the right reads, getting good looks for us. At the end of the day, you can’t judge performances based on the ball going in or not, because whether it went in or not, we like that shot. Basketball is an imperfect game. Shai’s never gonna go 25-for-25 — I hope he does — but he’s probably not gonna go 25-for-25 in a game.”

Gilgeous-Alexander set the table for Chet Holmgren and others while running the Thunder’s offense at a high level.

“He was making the right plays all series, making the right reads, trusting people. And that’s been really helpful not just for myself, but for Dub, and everybody down the list, and I don’t see that changing,” Holmgren added. “He’s going to continue to play great, and when that ball is going in at a high clip, you guys are gonna be up here asking me how special he was that night.”

In Game 4, Gilgeous-Alexander turned in his best performance of the Thunder’s first-round series, scoring 38 points on 13-of-24 attempts. He also averaged 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks while scoring 27.8 points throughout the Thunder’s best-of-7 series against the Grizzlies.

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After head coach Mark Daigneault applauded the Grizzlies’ effort in their opening-round series, Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander explained how he remained aggressive amid poor shooting performances.

When a reporter asked if Gilgeous-Alexander learned anything about himself throughout the series, he elaborated on his improved mindset.

“I don’t think I really learned anything new. I’m impressed with my ability to stay with it. In the past, I for sure would have turned down the aggressiveness a little bit,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I made a jump as far as that this year, and that’s something I’m definitely proud of. I try not to focus on the result and just focus on my mental development.”

The Thunder are the first team to advance to the second round of the playoffs.