The Oklahoma City Thunder were missing a slew of key guys on Monday night in another high-intensity clash against the Denver Nuggets. They were without Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Alex Caruso, just to name a few. But as long as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is on the court, the Thunder remain close to impossible to stop.

Try as the Nuggets might, Gilgeous-Alexander simply may have their number. Despite Nikola Jokic's best efforts to try and rescue the Nuggets from the dead, the Thunder prevailed in the end, 129-126, thanks to a bonkers game-winning stepback triple from the reigning MVP.

With 8.5 seconds remaining in the game, Gilgeous-Alexander got the ball from Ajay Mitchell on a sideline out of bounds. The reigning MVP had Spencer Jones draped all over him, but it did not matter. Gilgeous-Alexander then got the step on Jones before stopping on a dime and then pulling up to his right for a difficult game-winning triple that the Nuggets couldn't come back from.

There were around two seconds left on the clock after Gilgeous-Alexander made the three, but the Nuggets no longer had any timeouts. As a result, Aaron Gordon had to throw up a heave from around 90 feet, which missed wide-left of the rim.

This game had playoff intensity written all over it once again, and it would be a treat for neutral observers to see these two heavyweights duke it out yet again on the postseason stage.

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Thunder remain the team to beat thanks to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) reacts after the Denver Nuggets score during the second quarter at Paycom Center.
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Gilgeous-Alexander has plenty of critics for being an alleged free-throw merchant. But make no mistake about it, he is the best pure scorer in the NBA. He can get to his spot at will, and he remains efficient regardless of who guards him. His whole life is consistent, as he once said, and it shows: he's now scored 20 points or more in 126 consecutive games.

In the win over the Nuggets, Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 35 points, nine rebounds, and 15 assists in a thorough dismantling of arguably the Thunder's biggest rival.