Gilgeous-Alexander Leads Top Performers With 32 Points in Loss

Oklahoma City came out of the gates firing on Monday night but cooled off quickly, losing to the Charlotte Hornets 134-116.

The Thunder exploded with 41 first quarter points and played great defense early on. With 36 seconds left in the opening frame, OKC led 41-26.

The Hornets rode a big second quarter into halftime though, somehow coming all the way back to take the lead.

In the second half, Oklahoma City let the game get away quickly. The Thunder ended the game by allowing three 30-point quarters totaling 134 points on the evening.

Terry Rozier was a thorn in the Thunder’s side Monday, pouring in 30 points and four triples. He shot 11-of-17 for the game.

Here’s who netted top performances for the Thunder:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Minus his season-low of eight points against the Timberwolves last Wednesday, Gilgeous-Alexander has been virtually unstoppable since the break.

In his last 10 games, he’s scored 30 points or more eight times. In one of the two games he failed top top 30 points, he finished with 29. Gilgeous-Alexander is up to 24.2 points per game on the season.

Monday night, he poured in 32 points and eight rebounds. He also shot 12-of-20 from the floor and nailed three 3-pointers. His efficiency has been spiking rapidly. The rising star’s ability to create shots with the talent around him has been truly impressive.

Darius Bazley

Bazley followed up his performance of 29 points and 10 rebounds with another massive stat sheet, recording 25 points, four rebounds and four assists.

The Thunder forward has come on at the end of the year to provide added promise and excitement that was running dry after his slow start. Bazley has displayed renewed efficiency and is taking better shots.

Monday night, he got hot from behind the 3-point line. Bazley drilled four of his nine 3-point attempts in the game. He has now shot above 40% from three in four straight games.

Aleksej Pokusevski

Pokusevski recorded his sixth straight game in double figures on Monday night with a 17-point outing. He shot 6-of-11 on the night and added two triples to his performance.

In his last ten games, Poku is averaging 11.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while shooting 46% from the floor. This is stretch it the best and most consistent sample size of Poku we’ve ever seen.

He’s turned into a sneaky offensive rebounder and a pick-and-roll operator. His trajectory is once again aiming upwards for OKC.

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