Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes something clear to his teammates after 52-point performance

The Oklahoma City Thunder came up short against the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center, falling 116-109 despite a remarkable outing from Shai Gilgeous–Alexander. The game marked the second time in his career that Gilgeous-Alexander scored 50 or more points, but his stellar effort wasn’t enough to secure a win for the Thunder.

From the opening quarter, it was clear the Canadian guard was on pace for a monster night, scoring 21 of the Thunder’s 34 points in the first 12 minutes. He finished the game with 52 points, setting a career-high for points in a half with 31 in the opening two quarters.

However, Gilgeous-Alexander’s outstanding performance was overshadowed by his frustration with the loss. Speaking to reporters after the game, he expressed his disappointment despite his outstanding performance. “It sucks. Me, personally, I play to win. Winning comes first and foremost,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, via Joel Lorenzi. “If I don’t win, I’m not satisfied”.

“So maybe my 52 points tonight wasn’t in the best interest of the team, whatever it is. I’ll watch the game over,” he continued. “See where I could have been better and try to win the game; that’s what’s most important. So, I’m not satisfied. This doesn’t feel nearly as good as the other one did because of the outcome”.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder reacts after making a basket in the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. (Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

This marked the second time in his six-year NBA career that Gilgeous-Alexander scored more than 50 points in a game. Just over a week ago, he tallied a career-high 54 points against the Utah Jazz in a winning effort, making that performance all the more satisfying compared to Sunday’s loss.

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Steve Kerr’s funny attempt to stop Shai

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr admitted he didn’t have an answer for stopping Gilgeous-Alexander, who torched Golden State throughout the game. In a humorous moment, Kerr revealed that he jokingly asked Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault to leave Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench for a longer time.

“I don’t know what to do with Shai,” Kerr said, via Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “I asked Mark (Daigneault) at one point just to leave him on the bench for a couple more minutes, and he didn’t comply”.

“I think Shai came back in with like 10 minutes left in the fourth, and I looked down to Mark and said, ‘Can’t give him two more minutes? That would be really helpful for us.’ And he just laughed,” Kerr told reporters after the game.

Thunder coach praises Warriors’ effort

After the game, Daigneault acknowledged the Warriors’ impressive performance and conceded they deserved the win due to their strong effort on both ends of the floor.

“[Golden State] played really well tonight,” Daigneault said after the game, via Nick Gallo. “Both ends of the floor, they’re really physical. Then on the offensive end, they obviously had good shot-making after they got out of the first quarter, and they deserved to win”.

“We generated some decent shots at times, and then there were other ones where we weren’t quite as sharp,” Daigneault added. “I thought the pressure bothered us a little bit tonight. We just didn’t have the force necessary to combat that”.