Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder outlast Utah Jazz for overtime win

4 days ago 2

Chet Holmgren raised both hands up in a moment of both exhaustion and relief.

The finish line was finally in sight. The last stretch of a marathon of a matchup against Utah on Wednesday that needed an extra lap called overtime.

And OKC sprinted all the way to the end, securing a 129-125 home win. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander set the pace for the Thunder (31-7) with 46 points and six assists, while Holmgren added 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

Order new book on Thunder's run to NBA title

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OKC meant business out of the gate

Multiple Thunder players have their own 3-point celebrations.

Gilgeous-Alexander aggressively reloads an imaginary firearm. Isaiah Joe holds one hand over his face and holds the other one out to mimic Iron Man's repulsors. And Jalen Williams holds three fingers up to his forehead.

But none of them pulled out their signature celebration after drilling a deep bomb during the first half.

All three players just got back on defense with a straight face. They meant business, determined to bounce back from two losses to Phoenix and Charlotte in their last four days. And they certainly went to work early on, along with the rest of their team.

OKC held a 20-point lead with nine minutes left until halftime, but that's when Utah went to work. It completely erased the deficit to take a one-point lead with 7:36 left in the third quarter and stayed within striking distance the rest of the way.

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Undersized Thunder continued to struggle down low

Aaron Wiggins has added a lot to his game throughout the years.

The former second-round pick (55th overall) in the 2021 NBA Draft has become an efficient shooter, capable of scoring from inside and outside the arc. He has become a willing playmaker. And he has even become a solid defender.

But he hasn't become 6-foot-11 and 290 pounds like Jusuf Nurkic, who easily moved Wiggins out of the way underneath the rim late in the second quarter.

Nurkic then snagged an offensive board. And all that Wiggins could do was foul the big man to prevent him from scoring.

Plays like that have become a common occurrence as of late for OKC, which is without both Isaiah Hartenstein (right soleus strain) and Jaylin Williams (right heel bursitis). It entered Wednesday giving up an average of 14.6 offensive boards in its last five games, and it surrendered 19 to Utah.

The Jazz also racked up 70 points in the paint compared to the Thunder's 54. It shot 54.3% from inside the arc.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the Clutch Player of the Year

The fans knew it. The media knew it. Even the Jazz knew it.

It was no secret who the ball was going to, as OKC trailed by two points with just 3.2 seconds left in regulation. It was going to Gilgeous-Alexander, the league's reigning MVP and its leader in total clutch points (104) this season.

And there was nothing anyone could do to stop him.

Gilgeous-Alexander gathered an inbound pass. He then got around Keyonte George with a burst of speed and calmly sank a 13-footer at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.

Gilgeous-Alexander didn't stop delivering big-time buckets after that. He scored another nine points in overtime, bringing his total to 46 points.

It was a clutch performance by a guy who's the runaway favorite for Clutch Player of the Year.

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Tip-ins

∎ OKC was without Alex Caruso (low back soreness), Ousmane Dieng (right calf strain), Isaiah Hartenstein (right soleus strain), Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgery recovery), Nikola Topić (surgery recovery) and Jaylin Williams (right heel bursitis).

∎ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 20 points in 109 straight games. It's the second-longest streak in NBA history, only trailing Wilt Chamberlain (126).

Justin Martinez covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @Justintohoops. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.