Thunder 132, Mavericks 111: The Day After Report

132-111. 22-1. And it wasn't that close. The Thunder crushed the injury-ravaged, Anthony Davis-"led" Mavericks to no one's surprise.

• I planted our Shai > Jokic flag (in the purest sense) firmly a while back. And we just dropped an SGA love fest podcast episode. But our hyperbole still needs to catch up to how great Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is becoming right before our eyes. Shai has, as in every other season of his career, leveled up. He just dropped a statement game for the ages, going 11-12 from the line (more on that later) and nearly matching that percentage from the floor, where he was 10-12. He attempted to score 38 points in total (two three-pointers, eight twos, and twelve free throws attempted) and converted 33 of those potential points. And he did it all in just–you guessed it–three quarters of playing time.
• MVP.
• I'm a fan of the Prime broadcast, and always enjoy the energy that comes with a nationally televised Thunder game. But the game itself was never much of a contest. OKC was up just 46-42 with four minutes left before halftime, but, to no one's surprise, ran up the score to take a commanding 63-48 lead at the break.
• That run featured the first of Shai's scoring bonanza bookends for the decisive, unstoppable stretch of the game that the Thunder imposed on the overmatched Mavs.
• Blake Griffin declared Oklahoma City "THE best team in basketball, by far" at halftime. I'm seeing a lot of national media start to deliver the memo on OKC's greatness this season.
• The Other Two of the Big Three had a hand in slamming the door closed on the Mavericks as the second half unfolded. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren combined to score or assist on 12 straight points as the Thunder extended their lead to 84-55 midway through the third.
• The punctuating shot from that run was an SGA dagger courtesy of a Chet assist, when Holmgren effectively tossed SGA the lighter with which to burn down Dallas. Shai engulfed Dallas for 16 points and 3 assists in the period. His last field goal was a rude bank shot taken after stepping over Jaden Hardy's corpse.
• JDub's shot is still coming along, but he's bringing his full ferocity on defense and in transition. I still don't love seeing him wincing at his surgically repaired wrist, though.
• Jaylin Williams got the start and worked with some elite Thunder help (especially from Chet) to completely shut down Anthony Davis on defense. AD did not score until the fourth and finished with just 2 points on 1-of-9 shooting.
• Davis's career has taken such a rough turn. He's going down on the wrong side of what has already come to be known as the worst trade ever, and he clearly can't stay healthy. He did once gun for going down as the most egregious trade-demander ever, though, so maybe he's comfortable with the infamy.
• Add fading Klay Thompson to the bummer watch list. With Chris Paul dumped and LeBron James wheezing, an extended era of superstardom is really coming to a whimpering close this season.
• Cooper Flagg is the real deal. Watching players like Flagg has me disgustingly greedy for that Clippers pick. Please keep imploding, LA,
• Ryan Nembhard is for real, too. I'm here for Nembsanity.
• Ousmane Dieng had a solid sequence in the second quarter: a smooth step-back three, a trip to the charity stripe, and a screen freeing Cason Wallace for a wide open a three. Whether or not he hangs onto a Thunder roster slot, he's hustling for one like every other psycho in the rotation.
• If Dieng is ever going to earn a real spot, this window without Isaiah Hartenstein might be his last, best opportunity to prove he can be a complement to the fronctourt. I'm a recovering Bazley Believer, but Dieng does have flashes that showcase his size and skillset.
• While I appreciate what the Prime broadcast is going for, I don't find Udonis Haslem's career half as interesting as he does.

One Key Takeaway

An important part of Shai's elite scoring package is his free throw rate. It's fine that other teams and fan bases get frustrated at SGA drawing fouls. You would get annoyed, too, if you repeatedly failed to legally guard a player as shifty as Shai. But it's a good thing that he draws fouls; his ability to get free points is not a caveat to his greatness.

In these killer scoring runs–to decide games in the clutch, or to put blowouts out of reach–he's doing what sports fans have always demanded of our star basketball players: forcing the issue. Get points for your team when they need them. Get open, get to the rim, or get to the line. Don't settle; get buckets.

Defenders foul him because they can't stop him getting to the rim or getting to his shot. When teams like the Mavericks are so poorly equipped to contest his shots legally, he goes to the line almost at will. But we also get to see the other side of the equation with badly overmatched defenders: when you can't make a meaningful, legal contest, he drains almost every shot he takes. The likes of Klay, Naji Marshall, Max Christie, and Nembhard were fighting for their lives to slow Shai, but they looked like traffic cones in his practice drills most of the game.

Maybe as more fans see games like this, they'll start to appreciate that Gilgeous-Alexander's jumpshot is what every team's best defender can't stop. What's putting him in legendary scoring company is that he doesn't just have hotspots behind the arc or on his favored side of the court.

SGA shoots well at every level, in every zone of the court. And no one can stop him. What are they supposed to do?