Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes history for most points through 2 NBA Finals games
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes history for most points through 2 NBA Finals games
Seeing Johnny Furphy inside the paint, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander smelled blood in the water like a shark. He danced around Mathurin and bumped against the rookie. With his hands raised, the MVP winner put the final touches on a masterpiece when he went after Indiana's reserve.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 34 points on 11-of-21 shooting, eight assists and five rebounds. He shot 1-of-4 from 3 and went 11-of-12 on free throws. He also had four steals and a block.
The Oklahoma City Thunder evened the NBA Finals at 1-1 with a 123-107 Game 2 win over the Indiana Pacers. It was another must-win scenario that the title favorite aced. That's been a common theme these playoffs.
Everything was at stake for the Thunder in Game 2. They couldn't afford an early 0-2 series deficit and head on the road. Gilgeous-Alexander responded as he made the NBA Finals look like a standard regular-season matchup. So much for the playoff dropper allegations.
Gilgeous-Alexander ballerina'd his way through the Pacers. He only needed a few dribbles to get to his mid-range spots and find openings around the basket. Indiana couldn't figure him out. He had a busy night at the charity stripe to show for it.
From the jump, Gilgeous-Alexander set the tone. A rare catch-and-shoot corner 3-pointer sank in. The Thunder's offense looked a lot smoother to start. A stark contrast from their early Game 1 jitters. The MVP winner was a consistent threat throughout the four quarters.
This is what one of the NBA's best players does. Gilgeous-Alexander entered another classic legacy moment and lived up to the pressure. His 72 points through two NBA Finals games is the most scored from any player in their series debut at this stage.
He passed one of his all-time favorites in Allen Iverson. Iverson scored 71 points in his first two NBA Finals games. Michael Jordan is third with 69 points.
It was business as usual. Gilgeous-Alexander has easily been the best player in this series. While the Pacers' depth is nice, not having a direct counter to him showed its ugly face down the stretch with a failed comeback attempt.
"I'm being myself. I don't think I tried to reinvent the wheel or step up to the plate with a different mindset. Just try to attack the game the right way. I think I've done a pretty good job of that so far," Gilgeous-Alexander said on his historic first two NBA Finals games. "Now, I would trade the points for two Ws, for sure. But this is where our feet are. This is where we are. You can't go back in the past, you can only make the future better. That's what I'm focused on."
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