Tim MacMahon
Multiple Authors
PHOENIX — With a little more than seven minutes remaining in Saturday’s Game 3, reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander split a pair of Phoenix Suns defenders in transition and finished through contact.
As the Suns called timeout, Gilgeous-Alexander balled up his fists and bounded toward the Oklahoma City Thunder bench.
“I don’t need it!” Gilgeous-Alexander shouted, displaying a level of animated emotion that’s rare for the usually even-keeled superstar. “I don’t need it!”
No, Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t need a foul called on that play, nor did he need a friendly whistle to dominate the Suns, scoring a career playoff-high 42 points on 15-of-18 shooting to lead the defending champion Thunder to a 121-109 win at the Mortgage Matchup Center. Up 3-0 in the series, Oklahoma City has a chance to complete the sweep in Monday’s Game 4.
Gilgeous-Alexander is frequently criticized for so-called foul baiting, including after Game 2 by Suns forward Dillon Brooks, who referred to his Canadian teammate as “frail” while complaining about Gilgeous-Alexander “flopping and falling” to get whistles. However, Gilgeous-Alexander denied that any of that was on his mind as he gleefully hollered to his teammates about not needing a foul call.
“I just think they missed the call, but I scored anyway,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s OK, don’t worry about it. Nothing more than that.”
The Suns simply had no answers for Gilgeous-Alexander, even though Phoenix had more freedom to load up defensively against him with Oklahoma City star wing Jalen Williams sidelined by a left hamstring strain.
Gilgeous-Alexander went 15-of-18 from the floor and 11-of-12 from the free throw line, with half of his free throws occurring in the final few minutes with the Thunder leading by double digits and the Suns desperately attempting to extend the game.
According to ESPN Research, Gilgeous-Alexander became only the fifth player in NBA history to score at least 40 points while shooting 80% from the floor in a playoff game, a feat last accomplished by Suns star Devin Booker in 2023.
“I don’t think we saw anything different tonight than we normally do, except he was 15-of-18,” Thunder power forward Chet Holmgren said. “It seemed like a pretty normal night, I guess.”
Gilgeous-Alexander was 14-of-16 on shots off the dribble. He was 7-of-8 on open shots and 8-of-10 on constested shots. He was 3-of-3 on plays when the Suns double teamed him.
“Some of the shots were incredibly difficult,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said. “We know he can make some of those shots. … We tried different matchups, tried to take it out of his hands. He got to the area where it’s a little harder to take it out of his hands when he just rises up over us. Give him credit. He had us spinning tonight.”
Gilgeous-Alexander, who also had a game-high eight assists, said the absence of Williams didn’t have any impact on his approach. Williams’ Grade 1 left hamstring strain is scheduled to be reevaluated on Thursday, meaning he’s unlikely to play at least the rest of the series even if Phoenix manages to extend it.
“I’m very fortunate to be in this position, but regardless of who’s out there, I get to go out there and play my game,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That’s just the role I have on this team, and my coaches and teammates do a really good job of letting me be in my space. Now with our second ball-handler out, naturally the end-of-the-shot-clock plays and naturally the start of possessions, the ball’s going to be in my hands more, just naturally without Dub out there. So it’s a little bit more opportunity.
“But regardless, with that opportunity, I try not to press more or press less. Just let the game tell me what to do. And usually it works pretty well.”
In the days after scoring 37 in Wednesday’s Game 2 win, Gilgeous-Alexander challenged his teammates by reminding them of their struggles in Game 3s on the road during last year’s championship run. The Thunder had to rally from a 31-point deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 3 of the first round and lost Game 3s to the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Indiana Pacers in the rest of their series.
Gilgeous-Alexander made sure that trend ended on Saturday afternoon, when he made his first eight shots from the floor and scored 25 of his 42 points in the second half, putting the Thunder in position to sweep their first-round series for the third straight year.
“This is who he is,” Thunder forward Alex Caruso said. “I’m just not surprised anymore with him. I kind of have grown to expect it — and that might be a detriment to him and his greatness because I do get to see it every single night. But it really is magnificent to see just his mentality. He’s eternally optimistic, and he’s just a killer with his competitive mindset.”
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