Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s run of 20-point games finally came to an end Thursday, and the number he leaves behind is the kind that may sit untouched for a long time.
In the Thunder’s 96-84 win over Denver, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting. It was the first time since Oct. 30, 2024 that he failed to reach 20, snapping an NBA-record streak of 141 straight regular-season games that stretched across nearly two full seasons.
He still had a chance to keep it alive late. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said he would have stayed in if needed, but with the Nuggets pulling their starters and the game out of reach, Gilgeous-Alexander took himself out at 1:43 remaining.
"He asked out of the game," Daigneault confirmed. "And he's got a historic streak going.
Which is a remarkable streak, obviously. And I just think the class that it shows, and the perspective that it shows, for him to say, 'Hey, I'm out now.
The game's calling for me to be subbed out.' That was his substitution.
Of all the things I admire about him, that's toward the top of the list in terms of moments that I appreciate about him. It shows tremendous class as a competitor."
The night itself was a fight for Gilgeous-Alexander from the start. He missed 11 of his first 12 shots and had only two points at halftime. Still, he found a late burst with an elbow jumper and a trailing 3 in transition on two of his final three possessions to get to 17 before Denver called timeout and his night was done.
"I asked him, 'Do you wanna shoot some 3s right here?" Chet Holmgren told reporters of a late-game exchange with his teammate.
"And he was like, 'nah,' and then he went to Mark and subbed himself out. I told him he's a better man than me.
I would've been shooting some pull-up 3s. But I think it was a selfless moment, and he's a selfless guy."
"I was gonna go out there, but then I saw that [the Nuggets] had subbed, so I was like, 'I should probably sub too,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I feel like you should always treat the game with respect. And, God willing, I'll have many more games to start another streak, so it's alright."
Denver made sure his night was uncomfortable all evening. Daigneault said the Nuggets “sold out” on him, crowding his space and making him work for every clean look. Christian Braun was a big part of that, staying in front of Gilgeous-Alexander and forcing contested misses when the matchup was straight up.
"[Shots] that he normally makes didn't go down," Daigneault said. "And [the Nuggets] sold out on him tonight.
They really put him in a crowd and really tried to take him away. It's not the first time a team has tried to do that.
So the combination of their scheming and him not having his normal stuff."
The most damaging part, though, was how often Denver kept him from even getting to the shot itself. Nikola Jokić stepped away from his own assignment at times to double Gilgeous-Alexander’s drives before he could turn the corner, while wings left shooters to help crowd the ball. With only two free-throw attempts, there simply wasn’t enough easy offense to lift him over the line.
That also fit into how Oklahoma City has used him this season. The Thunder often move him through off-ball action before he gets the ball, rather than letting him bring it up every trip.
It keeps the offense moving and makes defenses choose between several threats, but it can also leave him without the ball on a few possessions. On a night when the shots weren’t falling and the free throws weren’t there, that mattered.
The streak Gilgeous-Alexander set is already in rare company. Only Wilt Chamberlain has had a longer stretch of 20-point games, with runs of 126 and 92.
Oscar Robertson reached 79. Michael Jordan’s longest streak was 72, the same as Kevin Durant’s.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s best was 71.
That’s the company. And that’s why this one might stand for a very long time.
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