Thunder, SGA look to bounce back from OT loss with game on TSN+
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The Oklahoma City Thunder and Canadian superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will look to bounce back from an overtime loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves last time out when they face the Brooklyn Nets on TSN+ on Wednesday.
Despite a strong showing from Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 39 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists, the Thunder let a 22-point fourth-quarter lead slip away before falling 131-128 in overtime against the Timberwolves.
It marked their second loss to Minnesota in their last four games.
Now the Thunder get a bit of a breather with the Nets (21-36) on the schedule on Wednesday.
The Thunder have won five of their past six games against the Nets dating back to the 2021-22 season, and Gilgeous-Alexander, who is putting together an MVP-level campaign this season, has averaged 24.9 points per game in 12 games against Brooklyn in his career.
The native of London, Ont. has averaged a league-leading 32.4 points per game this year to go with 5.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. He ranks second in the NBA with 1.9 steals per game on the defensive end.
After finishing second in MVP voting a year ago, Gilgeous-Alexander continues to build a strong case to earn the honour this season.
It would make him the first Canadian to take home the award since Hall-of-Fame point guard Steve Nash won in consecutive campaigns from 2004-06.
His play has helped propel the Thunder to a large lead in the Western Conference at 46-11, 8.5 games ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets.
In the first meeting between the Nets and Thunder, Oklahoma City steamrolled Brooklyn 127-101 - with Gilgeous-Alexander leading all scorers with 27 points.