NBA Top Five Performances, April 6: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 22 Points Kept Oklahoma City Thunder’s Playoff Hopes Alive

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had another leadership game to keep Oklahoma City Thunder alive in the postseason standings.

TOP PLAYER OF THE DAY:

The Oklahoma City Thunder are holding on by a thread to maintain their position as the Western Conference’s final play-in team. They received a big boost from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 22-point performance to defeat the Utah Jazz Thursday night. Gilgeous-Alexander led the team to a comfortable lead, snapping a three-game skid.

Even though Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t have his usual high-scoring night, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault commended his all-around performance.

“I thought it was a good leadership game for him,” Daigneault said. “Just in terms of his consistency through the 48 [minutes] and taking what the defense gave him. He got double teamed a lot early, but he let the game tell him what to do tonight.”

The Thunder are a half game above the Dallas Mavericks for the 10th seed. They play the Memphis Grizzlies (50-30) Thursday night to determine if they make the playoffs or not. Nobody had expectations for Oklahoma City this season, giving them the opportunity to surprise people as a potential playoff contender.

OTHERS:

- Kevin Durant extended the Phoenix Suns’ win streak with 29 points against the Denver Nuggets. The Suns have won seven consecutive games, remaining undefeated with Durant on the court.

- Danny Green’s sharpshooting from the arc led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a blowout victory against the Orlando Magic. Green had 21 points on 5 of 9 shooting from 3-point range.

- San Antonio Spurs forward Keita Bates-Diop led all scorers with 25 points to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers.

- Despite the loss, Nuggets forward Bruce Brown led the team’s second unit with 31 points to keep up with Phoenix.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.