Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander does his best Michael Jordan impression with historic feat

Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander encourages NBA opponents’ best effort, which only makes him better, he said, after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves and reaching a feat in the same breath as Hall of Fame guard Michael Jordan. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 40 points in a 113-105 win on Wednesday. He also extended his streak of scoring 20+ points to 90 consecutive games.

At the same time, Gilgeous-Alexander joined Jordan in becoming the first to have 16 30+ point performances throughout the first 19 games of a regular season since MJ’s 1986-87 season.

“Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became just the second player in the last 50 seasons to have 16 30-point performances through 19 games of the season. The other is Michael Jordan who did it 17 times in the 1986-87 season,” ESPN Insights reported.

Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.6 points on 54.8/41.4/89.7 shooting splits, 6.6 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game this season. What’s most impressive about SGA tying Jordan’s record through 19 games is how many times he’s scored 30+ points in three quarters of a Thunder victory.

Gilgeous-Alexander is typically watching Oklahoma City close out one of its 18 wins of the regular season throughout the final frame of most victories. While Wednesday’s win against the Timberwolves wasn’t one of those nights, SGA led the Thunder on a 12-4 run to break a 101-101 tie before cruising an eight-point victory to improve its NBA-best record to 18-1.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Thunder facing teams’ best effort

During his postgame media availability, Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, in many ways, reiterated coach Mark Daigneault’s take on facing teams’ best effort after a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals. For Gilgeous-Alexander, it can only make he and the Thunder a better team as defending champions.

“That’s how you grow — how we grow as a team, playing against the best and getting their best,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It only helps us see where we are on a nightly basis.”

Thunder will look to extend its 10-game winning streak amid its 18-1 start against the Suns on Friday.

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