LOS ANGELES — The sweet sound of a swishing net reached Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s ears. Then it was followed by the absence of any noise at all as the crowd at Crypto.com Arena went silent.
There’s no sequence more satisfying when playing on the road, but Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t savor the moment after making a mid-range jumper during the Thunder’s 131-108 Western Conference semifinals Game 3 win over the Lakers on Saturday. He just shook his head while backtracking up the floor before clapping his hands in frustration.
The lifelong perfectionist wasn’t satisfied with his very imperfect individual performance. One where he scored 23 points on just 7-for-20 shooting from the field (35%).
It was an uncharacteristic scoring night by the reigning MVP. And that has been the case for the entire second-round series, where Gilgeous-Alexander has finished with fewer than 25 points in three straight games for the first time since 2024.
“They obviously haven’t been my best performances,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t been happy with his scoring, and yet he has found joy elsewhere. He has found it when searching for ways to involve his teammates.
Games 1 and 2 required some adjusting from Gilgeous-Alexander, as the Lakers aggressively double-teamed him at all times. The OKC superstar wasn’t quite used to Los Angeles traffic, and he committed 10 total turnovers as a result.
But Gilgeous-Alexander was happy to let Chet Holmgren become the Thunder’s driving force. Gilgeous-Alexander frequently fed the first-time All Star, who averaged a team-high 23 points on 57.1% shooting from the field (71.4% from deep) during those two wins.
Game 3 also required some adjusting from Gilgeous-Alexander. The fashion icon prides himself on never repeating a fit, but he spent every play with Marcus Smart draped over him. It didn’t matter if he’d just gathered an inbound pass 90 feet away from the basket or if he didn’t have the ball at all.
So Gilgeous-Alexander rolled out the red carpet for his teammates as he racked up nine assists. And he did so while only turning the ball over twice.
“I give him a lot of credit for the way that he has not fought the game in this series with the double teams,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “They reeled those back tonight. But in the first two games, they were doubling him quite aggressively, and it has really put his teammates at an advantage. And now tonight, you turn around and we get contributions from everybody.
“I think if he had been more hasty in the first couple of games and he had tried to find something that wasn’t there, I’m not sure they would’ve had the advantages. And I think that contributes to the confidence that the guys play with on a night like tonight. He continues to impress me in every way possible, and I think his poise specifically has been really impressive.”
Despite posting uncharacteristic point totals during this series, Gilgeous-Alexander remains a high-character guy. He remains someone who just wants to win. Someone who knows he can’t do that on his own.
He’s the head of the snake, although there’s no toxicity. And he wants everybody to eat.
“I think it’s amazing,” Holmgren said of Gilgeous-Alexander’s unselfishness. “It really sets the tone for everybody else when somebody that talented and that good is playing the right way. That doesn’t mean he’s being passive. He’s being aggressive out there. Sometimes the game is telling him that he needs to pass, and he does a great job of that. It sets the tone because if he’s gonna do that, who is anybody else not to? I think it’s great for our team.
“It’s a great example of leading with action by doing the right thing. People tend to follow, and he’s done a great job with that.”
Of course, Gilgeous-Alexander still isn’t happy in the moment when his shot doesn’t drop. You don’t reach the heights he has reached without having high standards.
But OKC still has a 3-0 lead in this series, making it one win away from advancing to the Western Conference finals. It’s also still the favorite to win a second straight championship.
And that sounds good to him.
“As long as we win,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “If the rest of the playoff run or the rest of my career looked like what it looked like the past few games, I’d be OK with it because we won games. That’s how I view it.”
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.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring less but Thunder still dominating Lakers