‘Amazing’ Gilgeous-Alexander scores 37, but OKC falls short
A depleted roster can spotlight a singular talent.
The Kings topped the Thunder 131110 Monday night in Oklahoma City, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went down swinging as a must-watch solo act.
There was no Josh Giddey, Lu Dort or Kenrich Williams for the Kings to corral, but Gilgeous-Alexander — wearing an even larger target than usual — still dazzled.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points, two shy of his season-high, on 12-of-16 shooting. SGA was a perfect 3of-3 from 3-point range, and he shot 10-of-14 from the foul line.
He dished 10 assists, grabbed seven rebounds and snatched three steals.
“He was high-level,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
“It’s amazing what he can do,” rookie guard Tre Mann added.
After missing one month with a right ankle sprain, Gilgeous-Alexander has returned with three straight games of at least 30 points.
“I expected this,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I worked my butt off in the time I was off to try to be back 100%.”
Two-way center Olivier Sarr was the Thunder’s second-leading scorer with 12 points — including his first-career 3-pointer — but offense wasn’t the Thunder’s issue against the Kings.
Sacramento cracked the game open thanks to a 40-point third quarter. The Kings followed with 32 more in the fourth for a 72-point second half.
“Our defense is predicated on taking away easy baskets, and I thought they got way too much easy tonight,” Daigneault said.
The Kings shot 56% from the field, and they attempted 30 free throws.
Here are four more takeaways:
Doubling Sabonis
Sarr and Thunder wing Vit Krejci converged on Domantas Sabonis and forced the Kings center into a turnover. Later in the second quarter, the Thunder trapped Sabonis again, and Sabonis committed an offensive foul as he tried to break free.
Sabonis had to sit on the bench early in the second quarter with three fouls and five turnovers.
“We have to double him with where we’re at right now,” Daigneault said. “Domas is a really good player. He’s a force inside.”
Sabonis finished 7-of-8 from the floor, but he also turned it over eight times — tying a career-high.
Speedy point guard De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 29 points. Trey Lyles and Harrison Barnes had 24 and 23 points respectively.
Wiggins exits, Krejci steps in
Aaron Wiggins sprained his right ankle against the Mavericks in early February. The injury sidelined Wiggins for five games.
The Thunder rookie wing resprained that same ankle Monday night against the Kings.
Wiggins went down in the second quarter, and he had to be helped off the floor. The Thunder ruled him out for the rest of the game.
Krejci started the second half in place of Wiggins.
Krejci, who has overcome multiple injuries himself, had 10 points and five rebounds in 29 minutes. Most of his looks came off smart cuts to the rim.
Poku competes
Aleksej Pokusevski shot 4-of-12. Toss that aside for a second.
Poku’s offense has rarely, if ever, been consistently good, but that hasn’t been the Thunder’s primary concern. It’s Pokusevski’s need to compete that Thunder coach Mark Daigneault has emphasized.
Pokusevski had eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks against the Kings. He dove on the floor for a loose ball and competed defensively.
That’s the Poku the Thunder wants more of.
“The silent assassin is durability,” Daigneault said. “Last year, just with where he came in physically, it was hard for him to play long stretches. I thought he hit a couple walls as the season went on … and now (he’s) way, way more prepared to endure an 82-game season.
Kings turned Blue
Former Thunder center Nazr Mohammed has been making moves as general manager of the OKC Blue.
In separate trades last week, the Blue acquired Robert Woodard II and Jahmi’us Ramsey — 2020 second-round picks who played a combined 57 games for the Kings over the last two seasons.
Forgive yourself if you missed the news.
G League trades aren’t exactly franchise-changing, but this one was intriguing given the NBA experience of Ramsey (32 games) and Woodard (25 games). Neither made an impact in Sacramento, hence their inclusion in a G League trade, but the Thunder/Blue wants to take a look of their own.
Ramsey was a one-and-done at Texas Tech. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 15 points on 44% shooting on his way to being named Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
Woodard, a 6-foot-6 forward, played two seasons at Mississippi State. He shot 43% from 3-point range as a sophomore.
“They’re good guys to get into the program,” Daigneault said. “We’ve talked a lot about the (G League) assignments and the two-way guys and the way that we can steal minutes there. Another way you can use your G League program is to explore the market if you will, and those guys shook free.
“It was obviously a priority for us to go get them, and we’re excited that they’re here.”
Will Ramsey or Woodard ever play for the Thunder? Who knows, but the Thunder has been more than willing to give its G League guys a shot.
Monday, in Ramsey’s first game with the Blue, he scored a game-high 22 points.
Thunder at Nuggets
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Ball Arena, Denver
TV: Bally Sports Oklahoma (Cox 37/HD 722, DirecTV 676-5)
Stream: DirecTV Stream
Radio: WWLS 98.1 FM
Three things to know
❚ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander needs 32 points to pass Jeff Green for sixth place on the Thunder’s all-time scoring list. Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 30 points in all three of his games since returning from a right ankle sprain.
❚ The Thunder hasn’t fared well in the Mile High City. OKC hasn’t won a regular season game in Denver since April 2017 — a losing streak of seven games. OKC is 7-16 all-time at Denver.
❚ Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is in a three-man MVP race with 76ers center Joel Embiid and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Jokic has kept the Nuggets afloat while Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. have been sidelined.