Gilgeous-Alexander Explodes in Narrow Loss to Mavericks

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued his dynamic stretch in January with a 34 point performance to lead Thunder.

Chris Becker | Jan 18, 2022

Oklahoma City fell short of the Mavericks after costly mistakes down the stretch of the fourth quarter.

The loss marks the seventh loss in the Thunder’s last eight games. OKC has also lost eight of 10. It was a great effort by the young Thunder, who pushed this game to the very last play.

Here are the top performers from the 104-102 loss.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

After struggling to begin the month, Gilgeous-Alexander has exploded over the past week. He scored 34 on Monday to lead all scorers, converting on 11-of-12 free throws and going 11-of-18 from the field. SGA also made just one 3-point attempt in his outing.

On top of the scoring, SGA was critical for the Thunder in the rebounding category, notching six, which was second to Lu Dort on the Thunder. He also dished out five assists.

Gilgeous-Alexander has now scored more than 30 points in three of the last four games.

Mike Muscala

The oldest Thunder player to get minutes on Monday night was Muscala. A leader on this team, he continues to be one of the most efficient players on the roster.

Muscala played 17 minutes Monday night and tallied seven points on 3-of-7 shooting. Muscala also notched five rebounds in the tight loss.

Despite the slimmer role compared to others on the team, Muscala is proving his worth as a veteran leader.

Lu Dort

The Thunder trailed by 22 points at times in the game, but Dort paired with Gilgeous-Alexander to bring the team back into contention.

Dort scored 18 points in the game on 50% shooting, making seven of his 14 field goal attempts. Dort has proven his complimentary ability to SGA as well as an improved 3-point shot, which continues to spark the Thunder when it matters most in just his third season.

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Published Jan 18, 2022

CHRIS BECKER

Chris is a senior Sports Media student at Oklahoma State University who has grown up in Oklahoma and around the Thunder. Chris has covered OSU sports from women’s golf to football working for the O’Colly, the OSU student newspaper.