All Shai Gilgeous-Alexander needs is a little help.
Wednesday night, he got it.
The MVP-favorite Gilgeous-Alexander scored 41 points and dished out eight assists, leading OKC to a 120-103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s outburst comes just two days after he scored 51 against Houston.
“I’m just having fun with the game, nothing more than that,” Gilgeous-Alexander said to Scott Van Pelt of ESPN following the win.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s heroics have become commonplace for OKC, but the performance of his teammates has been up and down all season. In some games, OKC looks like an elite shooting team that can’t miss an open look. Others, the shooting woes that haunted the Thunder during last year’s playoffs pop up and make games hard.
Against Memphis, OKC’s shooting was solid, but Jaylin Williams provided an unexpected boost in a game that was in jeopardy as late as the third quarter.
Williams went 4-4 from 3, swinging the game in OKC’s favor and providing valuable depth down low with Chet Holmgren sidelined. Williams’ contributions on the offensive side come as a welcome sight for the Thunder, which has dealt with injuries to Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein for most of the season. If Williams can consistently space the floor, he becomes a valuable depth option for a team that will need as many big men as it can find come the playoffs.
Whatever switch Williams flipped for OKC on offense, Lu Dort flipped on defense.
When lining up against Ja Morant, any player in the NBA is going to have moments where they are made to look foolish. That being said, Dort held his own against one of the league’s most explosive drivers.
Morant scored 24, but he shot just 36% from the field and was visibly upset with the physicality of OKC throughout the game.
Should these teams meet in the playoffs, Dort and Morant’s matchup could be what decides the series.
OKC likely defeats Memphis with relative ease in any setting, but if a few things go the way of the Grizzles, the series will tighten up. If that happens, Dort’s defense on Morant will be paramount — and now we’ve seen a blueprint of how Dort will go about stopping one of the most dynamic playmakers in the NBA today.
