Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 'Not Satisfied' with 52-Point Game in Warriors Loss
January 30, 2025
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's second 50-point game of the season wasn't enough to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder in their 116-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.
After dropping 52 points, Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters he's "not satisfied" with the individual results when it comes in a loss.
"It sucks. Me personally, I play to win," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Winning comes first and foremost, and if I don't win, I am not satisfied. So maybe my 52 points tonight wasn't in the best interest of the team."
Gilgeous-Alexander set a career high with 54 points one week ago in a 123-114 win over the Utah Jazz.
The main issue on Wednesday night was Oklahoma City's usually-stout defense got picked apart by Golden State. Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins and Gary Payton II caused all sorts of problems.
Curry and Wiggins combined to make 10 of the Warriors' 13 three-pointers. Payton scored a season-high 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 25 minutes.
Losing is not something the Thunder are accustomed to this season, but they are 3-3 in their last six games. Two of those losses have come to the Dallas Mavericks, who eliminated them from the playoffs last season in the Western Conference semifinals.
Gilgeous-Alexander didn't play in the first game against the Mavs on Jan. 17. He is in the midst of arguably the hottest streak of his career.
In his last 17 games dating back to Dec. 23, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 34.9 points on 55.7 percent shooting with 5.7 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game. He has scored at least 40 points six times during this span.
Even in the midst of what might be called a rough patch, at least by their standards, the Thunder are still comfortably in control of the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference with a 37-9 record. They are five games ahead of the Houston Rockets (32-14).
Despite the loss, Gilgeous-Alexander strengthened his MVP case with another 50-point outing. The three-time All-Star leads the league in scoring average (32.1 points per game) and is shooting 52.8 percent from the field.
The Thunder will look to get back on track when they open up a four-game homestand on Saturday against the Sacramento Kings.
