Chet Holmgren played the best game of his young NBA career on Saturday night, finishing with 36 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks in the Oklahoma City Thunder's thrilling 130-123 overtime victory against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. The rookie's impact loomed even larger than the box score suggests, too, and not just due to the way his rare blend of shot-making and rim-protecting warps the floor on both sides of the ball.
His team suddenly down three with just 1.7 seconds remaining in regulation after Andrew Wiggins drained a go-ahead triple, Holmgren calmly caught just above the left corner, turned around his left shoulder and let fly, netting a game-tying three as time expired.
Holmgren scored just one point in the extra session, splitting a pair of free throws. The Thunder didn't need more heroics from him to beat Golden State in San Francisco for the second time in three days, this time with Stephen Curry having returned from a knee strain. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's epic two-way effort in overtime proved plenty for Oklahoma City to escape the Bay Area with another victory.
“It's huge. When one of your best offensive players is one of your best defensive players, it's huge,” Holmgren said of Gilgeous-Alexander after the game. “He really ignites us on both ends with his energy, especially in that overtime period. He had a huge stop that ended up leading to two points and really breaking the game out. It's huge having Shai out there doing what he's doing, and we really feed off that.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's epic overtime vs. Warriors
Holmgren was the story of Saturday's game for the Thunder until Gilgeous-Alexander dominated overtime. The reigning First Team All-NBA honoree ended the night with 40 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks on 18-of-29 shooting, getting wherever he wanted offensively despite solid Warriors defense while making a major impact on the other side of the ball.
Gilgeous-Alexander's two-way domination peaked when Oklahoma City needed it most.
After scoring six of Oklahoma City's first seven points in overtime, he rescued his team from a wasted possession by hitting an insanely difficult fadeaway over the outstretched arms of Wiggins, then blocked a three-pointer from Curry before slithering the other way for a tough finish in transition. The Thunder led by five in wake of Gilgeous-Alexander's instant-classic sequence, en route to a win with just 56 seconds left on the clock.
No one paying even passing attention should've had any doubt about Gilgeous-Alexander's ascending place in the league's individual hierarchy after his breakout 2022-23 campaign. He's taken his game to an even higher level this season as Oklahoma City establishes itself as a legitimate threat in the Western Conference, averaging 29.8 points, career-highs of 6.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists while leading the NBA with 2.6 steals per game. Gilgeous-Alexander has also been more efficient from two and three, cutting his turnover rate to a minuscule 8.8%.
There's no debating it anymore. Gilgeous-Alexander is a surefire top-10 player in basketball, a singular offensive and versatile defensive disruptor who's only getting better at 25 years old.
Opponents need to muster all the wins against Oklahoma City they can before it's too late. The Thunder, 9-4, already look like a surefire playoff team, and will only be even scarier going forward once Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey approach the start of their playing primes—a development that's somehow only just begun for Gilgeous-Alexander.
Follow Us
Subscribe