Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sets a new season high in OKC’s win against the Clippers

Oklahoma. and home – Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 19 of his 32 points in the second half of a 122-101 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Chet Holmgren revealed the benefits of losing the Thunder San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup semifinals, giving the defending champions five days off before Thursday’s game. The reigning league MVP dominated the Clippers.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 19 points in the third quarter the climax of the new season for most points scored in a quarter. His 19 points also turned a nine-point Clippers deficit into a 20-point Thunder lead in the fourth quarter, where Shai watched the rest of the game from the comfort of his team’s bench. SGA finished with 32 points on 13-of-24 shooting, including 2-for-6 from three and 4-for-6 from the free throw line.

He also added seven rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks to his stat line. Three Thunder players finished with 20+ points, including Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren (22 points, seven rebounds) and Jalen Williams, who added 20 points, five assists and two steals.

The rested Thunder defense also finished with 18 steals, led by Kaison Wallace’s Friday, as the Clippers found themselves on the wrong side of history for most turnovers this season, with 28 against Oklahoma City.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tops Nikola Jokic in MVP poll

Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is an early MVP candidate as the reigning NBA MVP, he could become the first to win back-to-back since Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokic. Jokic, who won it in back-to-back years in 2022 before winning his third in 2024, finished as the runner-up in ESPN’s first MVP poll in 2025-26.

Gilgeous-Alexander won the most votes for MVPedging Jokic by 15 first-place votes, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.

“For the third straight time, Gilgeous-Alexander (57 first-place votes, 865 total points) has a clear but narrow lead over Jokic (42 first-place votes, 822 points) and 13 other stars who received at least one vote in the poll conducted Monday and Tuesday,” Bontemps said.

For Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder’s potential 70+ win season could give him a slight edge over Jokic for what would be back-to-back SGA MVP awards.

“With our early snapshot of the MVP race predicting another razor-thin margin between Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic, the Thunder’s pursuit of 70 wins (and more) could be the deciding factor,” Bontemps added.

After the Spurs snapped a 16-game winning streak, the Thunder improved to 25-2 before facing the Timberwolves on the road on Friday.