Why Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t worried about OKC’s recent losses

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 25-3 defending champion Oklahoma City The Thunder got a piece of the humble pie in a rare pair of losses in the last stretch of three games. The Thunder’s 112-107 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves and 111-109 loss in the NBA Cup semifinals to the San Antonio Spurs were followed by a 122-101 win by the Los Angeles Clippers. However, Oklahoma City will get two chances to avenge their loss to the Spurs this week.

Gilgeous-Alexander, who addressed the Thunder the last two defeats after the Timberwolves game on Friday, he is confident his team will bounce back.

“We’ve been here before. We won tough games on the road. We played amazing on the road and blew a team away. We’ve been in almost every situation a team can be in, especially the last few years,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Once you have that under your belt, you know how to handle situations. And we just grow with time, as we should. Use these experiences for lessons and get better from them.”

In the Thunder’s Western Conference finals rematch against the Timberwolves, his opponent went 33 of 47 from the free throw line, one of many glaring problems for Oklahoma City in Friday’s loss. Gilgeous-Alexander has finished with 32+ points in four of the Thunder’s past six games, including a 38-point performance in a 124-112 win over the Golden State Warriors.

The Thunder will host the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s take on the Thunder’s shooting disparity

Thunder All Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander discussed the disparity in free throw shooting in Friday’s loss to the Timberwolves. The The Thunder defied their favorable free throw shooting reputationfinishing minus-17 in free throw attempts against the Timberwolves.

After the game, Gilgeous-Alexander addressed the shooting disparity between the Thunder and Timberwolves during his postgame media availability.

“Yeah, I don’t really care. Not one bit. I can’t control how the refs boo, ever,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I’ve never been able to — I’ve never been a referee. All I can do is play basketball, and that’s all I focus on, trying to win games and championships.”

The Thunder will face the Spurs on Tuesday before another rematch on Christmas Day at the Pike Centre.