In a game where the Oklahoma City Thunder set a franchise record amid an 8-0 start, All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made NBA history with his 80th consecutive 20+ point game in a 126-101 win against the Los Angeles Clippers. Gilgeous-Alexander raced to 30+ points before the final frame for the third straight night, as his 18 points after halftime led to the Thunder's first double-digit lead in the fourth quarter against the Clippers.
After the win, a reporter asked Gilgeous-Alexander if the Thunder, amidst its perfect 8-0 record as defending champions, has a chance to become the NBA's first dynasty since the Golden State Warriors.
“Yeah, every team has a chance,” Gilgeous-Alexander replied. “Every team starts the year 0-0. They have 82 games, and they get a chance to win all 82. Now, it doesn't work like that more often than not, but we understand the opportunity in front of us, and, to sum it up, we just try to attack it every day. No matter where we are, no matter what we accomplish, no matter what we didn't accomplish, no matter if we won or lost, we're just trying to get better.
“And I think that's the formula that's helped us get to where we are today. Obviously, win a championship. Have the start we did this year, or have, so far, this year.”
The Thunder reached its best start in franchise history without All-Star Jalen Williams, who's yet to make his regular-season debut, and in large part, without Chet Holmgren, who's missed nearly half of the regular season, thus far. It's a testament to the Thunder's growth as a team that keeps getting better, showing shades of a potential dynasty, eyeing back-to-back titles.
“No matter what, we're focused on getting better, and if you do that, you'll look up and eventually be where you want to be,” Gilgeous-Alexander added. “No matter what it is. But this team does a great job of prioritizing that as individuals, and as a unit, and good things happen to us because of it.”
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 30 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 4-for-5 from deep, 8-for-9 from the free-throw line, 12 assists, four rebounds, and three blocks against the Clippers.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reaches epic feat in Thunder's win
En route to his 80th consecutive 20+ point game, which is the third-longest streak of 20+ point games in NBA history, Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reached an unprecedented NBA feat amidst an 8-0 start. Gilgeous-Alexander became the first player to score 250 points while dishing out 80 assists throughout an eight-game winning streak to start the regular season.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 33.1 points on 53.3% shooting, 6.6 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game this season.
