Initially looking like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was going to stay for the final minute to chase 20 points, he pump-faked the viewing audience. Once he saw the Nuggets roll out their end-of-bench guys, he pivoted and walked back to the bench. The 28-year-old was content with ending his historic streak on his own terms.
The Oklahoma City Thunder got over an ugly start on their way to a 96-84 win over the Denver Nuggets. Quite the way to start the 2026-27 regular season with two convincing wins over your assumed top threats in the West.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting, three assists and two rebounds. He shot 3-of-11 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had one block.
Early in the regular season, Gilgeous-Alexander used the second game to experiment. He put on his lab coat and tried on his outside jumper. Let's just say the results weren't optimal. His obsession with continually hunting for it caused the Thunder to see their offense sink below efficiency levels. But the two-time MVP was willing to take that short-term loss if it meant others could eat on offense.
Gilgeous-Alexander was scoreless in the first quarter. He had two — yep, two — points at halftime. Wow. That's just something you never see. Him rolling out of bed on game day and putting up 20-plus points has been one of the few guarantees in life in the last two years. So to see him that quiet was a sight we haven't seen since before his NBA superstar leap earlier this decade.
Finally, Gilgeous-Alexander figured things out in the second half. His lethal jumper finally returned. Both in the mid-range and the outside. Distancing himself from constant drives to the rim, the 28-year-old would rather save that mileage on his legs for the future. But it came at the cost of his NBA-record 141 consecutive 20-point streak.
"I was gonna go out in there and then I saw that they had sub, so I was just like, 'We should sub, too.' I feel like you always treat the game with respect," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "God willing, I have many more games to start on a streak. So it's not the end of the world."
Bon voyage to one of Gilgeous-Alexander's prettiest feathers in his cap. Even though the Thunder were surprised by his decision to lay it to rest, they commended his ability to not recklessly chase stat lines. At this point in his career, rings will do him more good than niche statistical streaks.
"We didn't surprise ourselves tonight. We've won like this before. We knew we were capable of winning this game. We know we're capable of winning games when we don't make shots," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "So I mean, no, it didn't. Tonight doesn't really stand out. We've done it before. We were capable of winning in multiple ways. Tonight was just another night."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shows grace in 20-point streak ending in OKC's win over Nuggets