Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Shines in Loss to Kings

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Sacramento Kings are two teams in the Western Conference that have found success in 2023. So, naturally, the matchup between the two teams was highly competitive. The Kings took this game 118-113 in a close matchup.

It was a high scoring matchup, but the Thunder’s offense started to fall apart in the second half. Fortunately, the Thunder’s potential All-Star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put together a big stretch that kept the Thunder in the game.

The Kings continued to swing at the Thunder with big hits, but it seemed like every time, Gilgeous-Alexander had a perfectly timed counter. This would only work so long, as the Kings caught on and made him a point of emphasis while closing the game out.

The 6-foot-6 guard finished with 37 points and seven assists on 16-of-23 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 shooting on 3-pointers. Statistically, it was a good game, but more impressively, his buckets were constantly timely.

Following up his 23 point performance where he knocked down seven 3-pointers, Isaiah Joe matching his performance seemed unlikely. But, he did just that. Joe knocked down seven 3-pointers once again. They were big triples, too, as they matched the Kings’ high-powered offense. Like Gilgeous-Alexander’s buckets, Joe knocked down some timely 3-pointers en route to his 21 point performance.

Outside of that, there were no real flashy performances, but Josh Giddey continues to play efficiently in his role. If he’s going to lean into becoming a secondary scorer, Giddey is going to have to continue to shoot with volume.

Giddey scored 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting and pulled down ten rebounds. He also added five assists. He was a +10 in his 30 minutes, too. Again, Giddey is going to have to up his shooting to continue growing into this secondary scorer role. Like the other two top performers in this matchup, Giddey produced some timely buckets, yet the squad fell short. The consistency from Giddey remains positive, too.

The Thunder’s next bit of action will come on Sunday against the Denver Nuggets in Denver.

Want to join the discussion? Like SI Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.