What was supposed to be a duel between two compulsive scorers such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards, disappointed in that sense, although not in the great game between two of the best teams in the West. Oklahoma won 116-103 against Minnesota, but neither the Canadian nor ‘Ant-Man’ shone particularly brightly.
Most important: Shai kept his streak of 20 or more points scored in a row alive, which began on November 1, 2024, and which led him to break an extraordinary record of Wilt Chamberlain. He has already set it in 128 games, but against the Wolves he saved it almost by a miracle.Gilgeous-Alexander had a bad afternoon. He went 7-for-22 from the field and, with five minutes remaining, was on 10 points. In Oklahoma, tragedy was in the air (because of the streak), although these were moments when the Thunder were sprinting towards victory and had already broken the game.
With a more or less favorable score (in other games he would have gone to the bench), Shai stayed on the court and kept scoring. With 1:46 left, a 2+1 play put the streak in good stead. The foul was on Anthony Edwards. Shai made his free throw and both players left the field, substituted. The job was done.
Shai finished with just enough: 20 points in 33 minutes of play, plus 10 assists. Better than him was Chet Holmgren, 21 points. The Thunder, who missed their leader’s points for many minutes, had a great Isaiah Joe, 20 points and Alex Caruso, 17. They held the champions for a long time.
The 36-27 fourth quarter was a burden for the Wolves, who enjoyed 32 points from Julius Randle and 18 from Ayo Dosunmu. Edwards, who scored 19 points, shot 6 of 17 from the field. And he was also bad from the free throw line: 5/10.
Eighth consecutive victory for the Thunder, who now have 53 wins, more than anyone else in the NBA. The Wolves, with four defeats in the last five games, are sixth with 41 wins, the same as Houston and Denver.
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