Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knew Nickeil Alexander-Walker could break out

Quickly bring the ball up the court in the final seconds, Nickeil Alexander-Walker's behind-the-back dribble move created enough momentum for him to swish in the halfcourt prayer with his off hand at the end of the first quarter. All with Alex Caruso being in his grill.

The Oklahoma City Thunder avoided an upset with a 140-129 win over the Atlanta Hawks. A pair of NBA cousins headlined the high-scoring affair.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did his usual thing. As great as Atlanta's offense was without Trae Young and Jalen Johnson, they were equally as bad on defense. When you mix in the NBA's best scorer with bad defense, you get an efficient outing.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 39 points on 15-of-24 shooting, six assists and six rebounds. He shot 2-of-5 from 3 and went 7-of-7 on free throws.

On the other side, Alexander-Walker kept the Hawks in it. He finished with 30 points on 11-of-24 shooting, five assists and four rebounds. He shot 6-of-14 from 3 and went 2-of-3 on free throws.

Throughout the game, you saw unreal shot-making from both sides. Gilgeous-Alexander and Alexander-Walker went bucket-for-bucket to make this a tight contest. For the former, it's another day in the office. But for the latter, his fireworks displayed his breakout year.

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Despite the chaos surrounding the franchise, Alexander-Walker has had a career season with the Hawks. He broke out in recent years as a key contributor to the Minnesota Timberwolves' deep playoff run. He leveraged that into a bag this past offseason. Since then, he's turned into a 20-point scorer who can go bucket for bucket with his cousin.

"Really good player. You saw bits and pieces of it last year in Minnesota. He had a big game in the Conference Finals," Gilgeous-Alexander said about Alexander-Walker. "I knew he was capable of the caliber of player he is right now. Really good player. He's getting an opportunity to showcase his talent and he's taking advantage of it."

It's a little wild to see the Timberwolves let Alexander-Walker leave. He was their second-best player in the 2025 Western Conference Finals. Most savvy front offices would take him over Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo. That said, the Thunder are glad he's out East now.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knew Nickeil Alexander-Walker could break out