SGA Says He Wasn't His 'Best' After Historic Scoring Streak Snapped in Thunder's Win vs. Lakers

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander offered an honest assessment of his lackluster 18-point performance in the Oklahoma City Thunder's 108-90 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday night.

Speaking to reporters following the game, Gilgeous-Alexander explained he wasn't at his "best" after being held under 20 points for the first time since May 24, 2025:

"I was OK. It wasn't my best. It wasn't my worst. ... I was loose with the ball, had a lot of turnovers. I think that comes to the rust and not playing for a little bit. They're obviously very aggressive, but I feel like for most of the night we got great looks."

Lakers-Thunder Highlights

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The 18 points for Gilgeous-Alexander snapped a streak of 81 consecutive games between the regular season and playoffs with at least 20 points that dates back to Game 3 of the 2025 Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Gilgeous-Alexander, who has scored at least 20 points in an NBA-record 140 consecutive regular-season games, was still efficient shooting the ball against the Lakers despite not putting up big offensive numbers. He finished 8-of-15 from the field, but perhaps most surprising is he only got to the free-throw line three times in 35 minutes.

It marked his first time with fewer than four free-throw attempts in a playoff game since his first postseason series with the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Houston Rockets during the 2019-20 season.

Gilgeous-Alexander also had more turnovers (seven) than assists (six). The Thunder were playing for the first time in eight days after sweeping the Phoenix Suns in the first round.

Despite the Thunder not getting an A-level game from the presumptive MVP favorite, they still earned a comfortable win over the Lakers thanks in large part to their stellar defense.

Oklahoma City held the Lakers to 41.2 percent shooting overall and just 37 points in the second half. The defending NBA champs are off to a 5-0 start this postseason, with four of their five wins coming by at least 10 points.

Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder will look to take a 2-0 series lead against the Lakers in Game 2 on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET.