Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
Getty
Shai Gilgeous-Alexande had 34 points, five rebounds, and five assists in a win over the Spurs.
The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 119-98 for the first time this season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put together an impressive performance, finishing with 34 points, five rebounds, and five assists. He also had a career-high four blocks.
After the game, Gilgeous-Alexander talked about the team’s first win over the Spurs this season.”This wasn’t our super bowl, it wasn’t anything else but another game on our 82 game schedule,” he said.
The 2025 Finals MVP looked at the match up against the Spurs like any other game during the regular season and he delivered in a big way, helping his team reach their 34th victory of the season.
The two teams will play one more time this season on Feb. 4 in San Antonio. San Antonio leads the series 3-1.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Best Performance Against the Spurs
ESPN Insights
Tonight was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s NBA-leading 28th game with 30 points this season, six more games than the next closest player (Luka Doncic, 22) 😳
After his performance against the Spurs, Gilgeous-Alexander recorded his 28th game with 30 or more points, which leads the league. He wasted no time getting into his rhythm when the game started.
The three-time All-Star had 13 points in the first quarter. Going into the fourth quarter, the Thunder took a commanding 95-76 lead and Gilgeous-Alexander finished the third with 15 points. Despite being with two starters, Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder came together and held the Spurs to under 100 points for the first time in the four meetings.
It was a team effort and Gilgeous-Alexander leads this team when he steps on that court. “It’s never about the other team. It’s always about us. We’ve gotten to where we’ve gotten because we’ve focused on ourselves. That’s the only thing every night that stays in constant. We can go out there and control what we can do out on the floor every night,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “No matter who’s on the other side or what the personnel looks like. No matter where they’re coming from or what we just did the night before game-wise. Every night, we can control XYZ for us and we do that, we give ourselves a shot.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Believes the Thunder Can Beat Anyone
Oklahoma City Thunder
GettyThe Oklahoma City Thunder recorded their 34th victory after defeating the San Antonio Spurs.
The Thunder have the best record in the league and are looking to win back-to-back titles. Gilgeous-Alexander believes that the Thunder can beat any team in the league.
“Tonight’s result tells us that when we play a certain way, with a certain sense of urgency, with a certain sense of force and aggressiveness and attention to detail, it doesn’t matter who’s on the other side,” he said. “I think we knew that about this group. I think it’s about us getting to that point without having to lose or be pushed there. Not to say we haven’t done it before, we’ve done it multiple times. But I think the more we can get ourselves to that mental mindframe, the more we’ll be better off for sure. Nothing I didn’t expect. I know if we play a certain way, we can beat anybody in the world.”
Being the defending NBA champions, there’s a target on your back and the Thunder know that. Gilgeous-Alexander has stepped into that leadership role and has done an exceptional job leading his team. The Thunder do have what it takes to make another run at a title and it will be exciting to see how they play throughout the remainder of the season.