SGA, Thunder aim for 7th win in a row tonight on TSN
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Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder look for their seventh consecutive win Wednesday night as they host the Miami Heat.
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The NBA-leading Thunder head into Wednesday’s game on an absolute tear and haven’t lost a game yet this month. Not only are they winning, but the Thunder have been victorious by double-digits in every game since Jan. 29, including a 137-101 beatdown of the New Orleans Pelicans Monday night.
The Thunder made a franchise-record 27 three-pointers despite no individual player making more than four. Eleven different players hit from deep and the team shot 49 per cent on their 55 attempts.
Gilgeous-Alexander was his usual efficient self, scoring 31 points in 31 minutes on 10-of-20 from the field and 4-of-9 from three. He enters play Wednesday leading the NBA in points per game (32.6) with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (31.8) as the only other name within striking distance for the scoring title.
SGA has averaged 33.5 points in just over 30 minutes a night during Oklahoma City’s six-game win streak that included a 50-point outing against the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 5. The Hamilton, Ont. native is also a plus-23 over that span and is shooting .524 from the field, .389 from three and .873 from the free-throw line. He will represent the Thunder as one of the Western Conference starters at this weekend's All-Star festivities in San Francisco.
As Sports Illustrated points out, Gilgeous-Alexander leads the NBA in scoring in each of the first three quarters, but he drops to 23rd in fourth quarter output. Simply put, the Thunder haven’t needed their star point guard in the fourth quarter often with a hefty lead late in games so frequently.
Gilgeous-Alexander is currently -650 to win league MVP at FanDuel, representing an implied probability of 86.7 per cent. Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets is second at +430 and Antetokounmpo is a distant third at +7500.
Another reason for the Thunder’s recent surge is the return of Chet Holmgren. The 22-year-old missed nearly three months with a hip injury sustained in November and returned in a win against the Toronto Raptors last week. He sat out the next night for injury management on a back-to-back, but played nearly 23 minutes in OKC’s win on Monday against New Orleans.
A 7-foot-1 centre, Holmgren’s ability to stretch the floor and protect the rim strengthen the Thunder on both ends. The Thunder rank first in the NBA in team defence, allowing 104.8 points per game while scoring the fourth most (118.2). They have an NBA-best net rating – an estimate of point differential per 100 possessions – of plus-13.5, well ahead of the second-place Cleveland Cavaliers at plus-10.6.
After their matchup with the Heat, the Thunder will take on the Timberwolves in Minnesota Thursday night in their last game prior to the All-Star Break.