<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-mvp-mondays-24-25-giannis-shai-gilgeous-alexander-nba-cup-tighten-race');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA MVP Mondays: Giannis, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander use NBA Cup to tighten race');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/NBA-MVP-Mondays-Giannis-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-use-NBA-Cup-to-tighten-race.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA MVP Mondays: Giannis, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander use NBA Cup to tighten race</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-23T15:00:53-08:00">December 23rd, 3:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-23T15:10:23-08:00">December 23rd, 3:10pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>With the NBA Cup wrapping up last week in Las Vegas, there were no NBA MVP rankings. Now that an in-season tournament champion has been named, this MVP race is suddenly closer than it was when December began. This has been Nikola Jokic’s race to lose for quite some time, but what Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have accomplished, especially regarding their NBA Cup championship game, can’t be overlooked.</p><p>It was Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks who handled Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the 2024 NBA Cup. Although the stats don’t officially count, which is the dumbest thing, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bucks-news-giannis-antetokounmpo-makes-promise-nba-cup">Antetokounmpo put together one of his best performances of the season</a> while claiming the NBA Cup for the Bucks.</p><p>In this game, the two-time MVP recorded 26 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, three blocks, and two steals in 37 minutes while shooting 10-of-19 from the floor. He was aggressive when he needed to be, and Giannis looked like the best player in the league against the Thunder, who some would argue are the best team in the NBA right now. This performance surely turned many people’s heads regarding the NBA MVP race, and even Tim Bontemps of ESPN can attest to this with <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/43060049/nba-mvp-straw-poll-where-jokic-giannis-sga-more-stars-rank" rel="noopener">his latest MVP straw poll.</a></p><p>Even with Antetokounmpo stealing the spotlight during the NBA Cup, Gilgeous-Alexander’s accomplishments during this tournament have also increased his positioning in the MVP race. Although he struggled to shoot against the Bucks, as did everyone on the Thunder, SGA recorded a 32-point, eight-rebound, six-assist performance against the Houston Rockets in the NBA Cup semifinals. Leading Oklahoma City to the championship game is a major accomplishment for the 26-year-old.</p><p>While Jokic still appears to hold the upper hand, Giannis and SGA are making this NBA MVP race very interesting as we prepare for the calendar to flip over to 2025.</p><p><i><b>Previous 2023-24 NBA MVP Rankings: <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-mvp-mondays-24-25-luka-doncic-rejoins-top-5-nikola-jokic-insane-numbers">Week 7</a> | <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-mvp-mondays-24-25-nikola-jokic-leads-giannis-antetokounmpo-jayson-tatum">Week 6</a> | <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-mvp-mondays-24-25-giannis-antetokounmpo-charges-back-into-race">Week 5</a> | <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-mvp-mondays-24-25-nikola-jokic-overtakes-jayson-tatum-anthony-davis">Week 4</a> | <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-mvp-mondays-24-25-nikola-jokic-dominance-overlooked">Week 3</a> | <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-mvp-mondays-24-25-shai-gilgeous-alexander-leads-jayson-tatum-anthony-davis">Week 2</a> | <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-mvp-mondays-24-25-jayson-tatum-dominance-celtics-title-chances">Week 1</a></b></i></p><h2><b>1. Nikola Jokic – Denver Nuggets</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Nikola-Jokic-warming-up-1.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><i>Previous ranking: #1</i></p><p><i>2024-25 season stats: 23 games, 30.9 points, 13.0 rebounds, 9.8 assists, 1.7 steals, 56.3 FG%, 50.5 3P%</i></p><p>The only reason the Nuggets are 15-11 is because Nikola Jokic has put the team on his back and led them to a one-point win against the Sacramento Kings, as well as a three-point overtime win against the New Orleans Pelicans recently. If it wasn’t for Jokic, the Nuggets may be in the same position as the Pelicans near the bottom of the West standings.</p><p>Jokic currently leads the NBA in triple-doubles (11) and ranks second in scoring behind only Antetokounmpo. As long as he is practically averaging a triple-double on the season and the Nuggets remain near the top of the West standings, it will be hard to argue that Jokic shouldn’t be the MVP, especially since he may be the <i>most valuable player </i>in the league when it comes to how much his presence means to Denver.</p><h2><b>2. Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Giannis-dribbling.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><i>Previous ranking: #2</i></p><p><i>2024-25 season stats: 24 games, 32.7 points, 11.6 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.5 blocks, 61.3 FG%</i></p><p>When the Bucks were 2-8 and sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, there was plenty of talk about this organization needing to tear everything down. Now that the Bucks are 15-12, they are on the cusp of becoming a top-four team in the East, and this is all because of what Giannis has accomplished on the court.</p><p>Aside from leading the league in scoring, Giannis leads everyone in shots made (307), ranks sixth in rebounding, 11th in blocks per game, and first in player efficiency rating. This metric usually helps dictate who wins the MVP award, at least over the last few seasons, so this could be a telling statistic for Antetokounmpo vs. Jokic.</p><p>As long as Giannis leads the league in scoring and keeps the Bucks surging up the standings, his MVP case will only grow.</p><h2><b>3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-dribbling-1.jpg"><figcaption>Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><i>Previous ranking: #4</i></p><p><i>2024-25 season stats: 27 games, 30.3 points, 6.2 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 1.0 blocks, 50.8 FG%, 33.5 3P%</i></p><p>The Thunder are currently 22-5 this season and have <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-says-no-excuse-mentality-led-winning-streak">technically only lost once in their last 12 games</a> since the NBA Cup championship game doesn’t count towards their record. In 27 games, Gilgeous-Alexander has recorded 30 or more points 14 different times. Only Giannis has done so more times this season.</p><p>What is even more impressive about Gilgeous-Alexander’s numbers is that he’s scored below 20 points only once. He has also scored below 25 points only once in his last 17 games, not including the NBA Cup championship. When it comes to scoring and commanding his team’s offense, SGA has been the best player in the league.</p><p>Without Chet Holmgren, Gilgeous-Alexander has put the Thunder on his back and elevated the team to new heights. They may be undersized and inexperienced, but his leadership is the reason why Oklahoma City has gone from a feel-good story to being the favorite in the Western Conference.</p><h2><b>4. Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jayson-Tatum-dribbling-2.jpg"><figcaption>Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><i>Previous ranking: #3</i></p><p><i>2024-25 season stats: 26 games, 28.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.2 steals, 46.3 FG%, 37.2 3P%</i></p><p>At this point, there’s nothing Jayson Tatum can do anymore to prove that he is a legitimate MVP candidate. Aside from how good the Boston Celtics are, Tatum is nearly averaging a double-double this season and just below 30 points per game scoring. Tatum has done enough talking about why he should be MVP, which is why <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-joe-mazzulla-kristaps-porzingis-jayson-tatum-mvp-pr-him">Joe Mazzulla and Kristaps Porzingis have increased their efforts for Boston’s star.</a></p><p>“Yeah, no question. 100 percent. It does because I think he’s been doing it for such a long time, and he’s on a really good team,” Mazzulla said recently of Tatum’s greatness interfering with his MVP campaign. “I think that hurts him sometimes, but his ability to do what he does on a great team, I think, says more about who he is as a player. But, yes, for sure.”</p><p>Porzingis agreed with Mazzulla’s comments, even saying that Tatum isn’t a “PR player” in the sense that “he doesn’t do everything for PR.” Tatum has been great on both sides of the court this season and deserves more respect in this MVP discussion.</p><h2><b>5. Luka Doncic – Dallas Mavericks</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Mavericks-Luka-Doncic-after-scoring-against-the-Warriors.jpg"><figcaption>Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><i>Previous ranking: #5</i></p><p><i>2024-25 season stats: 20 games, 28.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 2.1 steals, 45.9 FG%, 35.5 3P%</i></p><p>Whether or not Luka Doncic can truly be in the NBA MVP race depends on his health and the Dallas Mavericks’ ability to remain at the top of the Western Conference standings. Regardless of statistics, whoever has a better record at the end of the season between Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic, and Doncic will surely hold significant weight.</p><p>In regards to health, Doncic has missed eight games this season. He must play in at least 65 games to be eligible for MVP, which means Doncic is only allowed to miss nine more games this year. The Mavs star has been banged up at times this year and could inch dangerously close to this eligibility number.</p><p>Three triple-doubles in his last four games, including a 45-point triple-double in a 143-133 win against the Golden State Warriors, is why Doncic is inside the top five of the NBA MVP rankings.</p><h2><b>Just missing the cut</b></h2><p>6. Karl-Anthony Towns – New York Knicks (Ranked No. 7 last week)</p><p>7. Victor Wembanyama – San Antonio Spurs (Ranked No. 10 last week)</p><p>8. Anthony Davis – Los Angeles Lakers (Ranked No. 6 last week)</p><p>9. Kevin Durant – Phoenix Suns (Ranked No. 8 last week)</p><p>10. Donovan Mitchell – Cleveland Cavaliers (Unranked last week)</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA MVP Mondays: Giannis, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander use NBA Cup to tighten race

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexanders-honest-admission-not-playing-christmas');   ga('set', 'title', 'Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s honest admission on Thunder not playing on Christmas');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-news-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexanders-honest-admission-on-OKC-not-playing-on-Christmas.jpg"></figure><h1>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s honest admission on Thunder not playing on Christmas</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-23T14:30:01-08:00">December 23rd, 2:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-23T14:30:01-08:00">December 23rd, 2:30pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Despite leading the Western Conference standings and ascending to becoming a championship contender, MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder are not playing on Christmas Day. The association will showcase its best marquee matchups. Amid <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-says-no-excuse-mentality-led-winning-streak">Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder’s seven-game winning streak</a>, a reporter asked the All-NBA guard his thoughts on Oklahoma City being left off the Christmas Day slate of games.</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTeRv46e02o&amp;t=100s" rel="noopener">honest</a> in his response.</p><p>“Disappointed for sure,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I’d love to play on Christmas Day and I think we’re that caliber of a team. The NBA makes [its] decisions; you can’t slight them for it. The ball’s in our court to prove to them why we deserve to play on that day. And we have a whole 82 games season and the playoffs to do so.”</p><p>Given how the Thunder have dominated the Western Conference, holding down the top spot for most of 2024-25, it’d be a shock not to see them left off one of the five games on tap for Christmas Day.</p><h2><b>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander says ‘no excuses’ led to Thunder streak</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-All-Star-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander_de2b26.jpg"><figcaption>Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Despite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and the Oklahoma City <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-jalen-williams-sounds-off-grueling-schedule" rel="noopener">Thunder’s grueling travel schedule recently</a>, back-to-back wins against the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat extended their winning streak to seven straight. For Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder’s ‘no excuses’ mantra led to the focus they needed to seal a pair of single-margin victories after losing the NBA Cup finals to the Milwaukee Bucks. </p><p>In the likely scenario of Thunder picking up a “scheduled” loss, as many teams face throughout the 82-game regular season, Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t want that for his team and did everything in his power to avoid it.</p><p>“We didn’t want to make an excuse,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We, I like to say, have the best jobs in the world. It sounds crazy, but it’s a little bit spoiled. We played basketball two nights in a row and got paid to do so. It’s so insane. Do you know what I mean? We have an amazing opportunity. We’re blessed to be in this position, and personally, I love playing basketball. So, I didn’t see the opportunity as insane, I saw it as something I get to do, and I love it.”</p><p>Williams scored a season-high 33 points on 12-of-25 attempts, including 5-for-7 from the free-throw line. Gilgeous-Alexander added 25 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. The Thunder will look to extend their winning streak to eight when they host the Wizards on Monday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s honest admission on Thunder not playing on Christmas

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-says-no-excuse-mentality-led-winning-streak');   ga('set', 'title', 'Shai Gilgeous-Alexander says Thunder’s ‘no excuse’ mentality led to winning streak');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-news-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-says-OKCs-no-excuse-mentality-led-to-winning-streak.jpg"></figure><h1>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander says Thunder’s ‘no excuse’ mentality led to winning streak</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-23T06:17:35-08:00">December 23rd, 6:17am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-23T06:17:35-08:00">December 23rd, 6:17am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took the opportunity to remind reporters of the blessed life he’s living as an NBA star. Despite the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-jalen-williams-sounds-off-grueling-schedule">Thunder’s grueling regular-season schedule of late</a>, Gilgeous-Alexander put things into perspective following Oklahoma City’s back-to-back wins against the Magic and Heat. He says his team embraced the challenge of traveling from Las Vegas to Florida, not wanting to make any excuses as to why their regular-season winning streak ended.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-jalen-williams-disappointed-take-losing-nba-cup-bucks">Thunder’s NBA Cup loss to the Bucks</a> does not count toward the regular season, granting the Western Conference’s No. 1 team the opportunity to stretch their five-game winning to seven on a back-to-back set in Florida. After beating the Magic 105-99, they followed up with a 104-97 win against the Heat.</p><p>After the win, Gilgeous-Alexander <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTeRv46e02o&amp;t=100s" rel="noopener">talked</a> about his mindset heading into the challenge.</p><p>“We want to make an excuse,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We, I like to say, have the best jobs in the world. It sounds crazy, but it’s a little bit spoiled. We played basketball two nights in a row and got paid to do so. It’s so insane. Do you know what I mean? We have an amazing opportunity. We’re blessed to be in this position, and personally, I love playing basketball. So, I didn’t see the opportunity as insane, I saw it as something I get to do, and I love it.”</p><p>But where does that perspective come from?</p><p>“I think it’s my parents raising me,” Gilgeous-Alexander replied. “Humility and being humble was like always the first thing. And just being grateful for the opportunity. So many people in the world don’t have the same opportunities that I’ve had as a kid growing up, and I do today. And not to say my life has been perfect by any means, but it’s been better than a lot always to be grateful.</p><p>“And if you look at life through that lens, usually good things happen to you, and I think that’s how I got here,” Gilgeous-Alexander concluded.</p><h2><b>Jalen Williams sounds off on Thunder’s grueling schedule of late</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-All-Star-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-next-to-Thunder-forward-Jalen-Williams.jpg"><figcaption>Rhona Wise-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams discussed the grueling schedule after beating the Heat. After the win, Williams delivered his take on the Thunder’s impressive back-to-back wins.</p><p>“We’re some dogs, man. And I don’t mean the barking stuff we do. That is a crazy travel schedule, and Cup games are a little more intense, and obviously, we go down to the wire for both teams,” Williams said. “Miami and Orlando, who are really good defensive teams, and good teams in general.”</p><p>The Thunder will host the Wizards on Monday night.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander says Thunder’s ‘no excuse’ mentality led to winning streak

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-jalen-williams-endorses-shai-gilgeous-alexander-shoe-release');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder forward Jalen Williams endorses Shai Gilgeous-Alexander new shoe release');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jalen-Williams-endorses-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-new-shoe-release.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder forward Jalen Williams endorses Shai Gilgeous-Alexander new shoe release</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-20T15:31:09-08:00">December 20th, 3:31pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-20T15:31:09-08:00">December 20th, 3:31pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams is excited for his teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s new shoe release. Earlier this year, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/shai-gilgeous-alexanders-bombshell-converse-deal-hints-at-signature-shoe">Gilgeous-Alexander hinted at a signature shoe with Converse</a>, the company he inked an endorsement deal with after the 2019-20 campaign after a brief stint with Nike. His first signature sneakers dropped on August 14. However, after the unveiling of Gilgeous-Alexander’s logo, his second drop will cater to his style.</p><p>After Thursday’s win against the Magic, a reporter asked Williams about Gilgeous-Alexander’s newest sneakers. Williams <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD0XyuldcSo&amp;t=157s" rel="noopener">revealed</a> he’s seen the latest sneakers and is thrilled for Gilgeous-Alexander’s upcoming release.</p><p>“I’ve actually seen the shoe. I saw the shoe a while ago. Extremely excited, well-deserved, obviously, Shai is a creative, and he’s like the guy in the fashion world,” Williams said. “Not many people have a signature shoe. Not many people, what is he? The creative director for Converse? I’m very excited for him to unveil that. He’s worked really hard for it. I’m excited for the world to see that. It’s a really good shoe. So, I’m excited for him.”</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander expressed Williams’ excitement for releasing his original sneakers without unveiling specifics. However, SGA kept his response short and sweet when opening up about the upcoming release.</p><p>“I’m in love with the shoe,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I can’t wait for it to come out, and I hope the rest of the world loves it, too.”</p><h2><b>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pioneers own wave in Converse shoe drop</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-All-Star-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-.jpg"><figcaption>Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Last week, Jalen Williams watched Converse unveiled Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s new logo. A reporter asked about the logo before the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-jalen-williams-keys-defending-giannis-antetokounmpo-nba-cup-final" rel="noopener">Thunder’s NBA Cup final against the Milwaukee Bucks</a>. Gilgeous-Alexander helped design the Converse SGA logo and takes pride in helping roll out the new sneakers. </p><p>He takes pride in doing things in a unique way, and he <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BC0EQswEok&amp;t=345s" rel="noopener">found</a> that platform with Converse.</p><p>“I try to be a pioneer. I try to create my own wave on and off the court. I try to just do things my way. Growing up, I was always taught to be a leader, never a follower. So, that’s kind of instilled in me. Then, I drew the logo and created it myself, and I’m glad it came to life, for sure.”</p><p>Fittingly enough, the Thunder were visiting the Toronto Raptors in Canada, Gilgeous-Alexander’s native country, when the logo was released. It was on a billboard near the arena before the Thunder’s 129-92 win on December 5.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder forward Jalen Williams endorses Shai Gilgeous-Alexander new shoe release

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-shares-eye-opening-take-tradition');   ga('set', 'title', 'Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shares eye-opening take on Thunder’s tradition');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-news-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-shares-eye-opening-take-on-OKCs-tradition.jpg"></figure><h1>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shares eye-opening take on Thunder’s tradition</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-20T07:56:35-08:00">December 20th, 7:56am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-20T08:41:11-08:00">December 20th, 8:41am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After beating the Orlando Magic 105-99, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder did their group interview with TNT’s sideline reporter, Stephanie Ready, prompting the question about the team’s tradition. During any Thunder player’s walk-off interview, that player is next to by a group of teammates, to which Gilgeous-Alexander explained the reason behind it after bouncing back from their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-jalen-williams-disappointed-take-losing-nba-cup-bucks">NBA Cup finals loss to the Milwaukee Bucks</a>.</p><p>The Thunder are a tight-knit group, and to exemplify that togetherness, Gilgeous-Alexander <a href="https://x.com/BrandonRahbar/status/1869934056143827270" rel="noopener">says</a> no player does their walk-off interview by themselves, per Daily Thunder’s Brandon Rahbar.</p><p>“To show our togetherness. We don’t do anything by ourselves,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We win together, lose together, shop together, go to dinner together. Everything’s together.”</p><p>After a dominating second quarter in which the Thunder outscored the Magic 36-18, they were on the wrong end of a 22-3 run after halftime. Orlando held Oklahoma City to 17 third-quarter points after Gilgeous-Alexander finished the first half with a whopping 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting. However, the Thunder kept their opponent at bay in the final frame without surrendering their lead once.</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a game-high 35 points, six assists, four steals, and two blocks. Isaiah Hartenstein notched a double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds), four steals, three assists, and one block, and Jalen Williams added 11 points and seven assists.</p><p>On the second night of a back-to-back set, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-vs-heat-prediction-odds-pick-12-20-2024">Thunder will head south to play the Heat</a> on Friday.</p><h2><b>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander addresses the Thunder’s grueling schedule</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-All-Star-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander_d3b2ef.jpg"><figcaption>Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After beating the Magic, Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander addressed the brutal turnaround from their NBA Cup final exit in Las Vegas to resuming their regular-season schedule. Reminding his teammates of what’s important, he <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD0XyuldcSo&amp;t=94s" rel="noopener">ensured</a> everyone was on the same page and dialed in for the team’s back-to-back games in Flordia.</p><p>“I was intentional, for sure. Two things: coming out of a tournament, like, we’re in the finals of something, and have to turn around play game 26 of the NBA season is a little bit odd,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I wanted to bring [some] juice. I wanted to show the team that it’s almost like going back to reality, back to what matters, and back to what our end goal is.</p><p>“Then, our schedule, going from three hours back timezone, flying four hours, taking off at 10, and landing at 5 in another city, and turning around, and playing; that’ll never happen in an NBA season, you know what I mean? I wanted to own that and not use it as an excuse,” Gilgeous-Alexander concluded.</p><p>Thunder will look to sweep their two-game set on Friday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shares eye-opening take on Thunder’s tradition

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexanders-reaction-jalen-williams-nba-cup-money');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunders’ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s reaction to Jalen Williams’ NBA Cup money disappointment is priceless');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Shai-Gilgeous-Alexanders-reaction-to-Jalen-Williams-NBA-Cup-money-disappointment-is-priceless.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunders’ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s reaction to Jalen Williams’ NBA Cup money disappointment is priceless</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-18T10:50:26-08:00">December 18th, 10:50am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-18T14:57:59-08:00">December 18th, 2:57pm</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>With how the Oklahoma City Thunder looked on offense against the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup Championship Game, it was easy for fans to facepalm in frustration. The Bucks’ defense <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-encouraging-takeaway-nba-cup-loss-bucks">ground the Thunder down on offense, giving the team a learning experience</a>.</p><p>However, even after the final buzzer, Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was lovingly facepalming at <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-jalen-williams-disappointed-take-losing-nba-cup-bucks">the comments made by Oklahoma City teammate</a> Jalen Williams <a href="https://x.com/cjzero/status/1869262389100810469" rel="noopener">moments after the loss</a>.</p><p>“Honestly, it’s a lot of money we’re playing for,” quipped Williams. “I mean, you saw how they were celebrating. They were happy. But when I think there’s money on the line, everybody will play hard. So yeah, I guess I’m disappointed.</p><p>“There is a competitive advantage. If I’m going to play a game, I’m going to play hard. I’m not going to change how I play because of the circumstances. I want to win at the end of the day, and I think I speak for the whole team.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Shai's reaction to Jalen Williams being disappointed because they were playing for a lot of money 😂 <a href="https://t.co/0tLJWk1R5Z">pic.twitter.com/0tLJWk1R5Z</a></p><p>— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) <a href="https://twitter.com/cjzero/status/1869262389100810469?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Every Milwaukee player secured $500,000 for winning the 2024 NBA Cup. Although they lost, the Thunder didn’t walk away penniless despite their hard work. While it isn’t as much as what Milwaukee won, Oklahoma City’s players each won $205,988.</p><p>So although it’s a $294,012 difference, at least Williams and the Thunder won’t walk away empty-handed. However, it’s a bitter-sweet prize, especially after a 16-point beatdown at the hooves of the Bucks. Hopefully, Oklahoma City can bounce back once their regular-season grind resumes.</p><h2><b>The Thunder are feeling good despite losing the 2024 NBA Cup</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SGA-Bucks-Thunder.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After the loss, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault looked at the bright side of his team gaining experience this early into the regular season. It’s an opportunity for the Thunder to examine what went wrong and learn how to prevent a similar defeat from occurring again.</p><p>“When you lose a game like tonight, it gives you wisdom,” Daigneault said. “It gives you information on yourselves as long as we’re growing through all those experiences. Then, we’ll gain momentum as the season goes on with a young team and a team that’s growing through everything.”</p><p>After the lesson learned, Oklahoma City will face the Orland Magic on the front end of a back-to-back set on the road on Thursday before playing the Miami Heat on Friday night in South Beach. After the back-to-back set, the Thunder returns home to host the hapless Washington Wizards.</p><p>For the Thunder, growing from failure is essential and can prove indispensable come playoff time. Daigneault will try to ingrain the “wisdom” gained from an overall productive NBA Cup adventure into his squad during the remainder of the season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunders’ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s reaction to Jalen Williams’ NBA Cup money disappointment is priceless

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-mvp-take-nba-cup-showdown-giannis-bucks');   ga('set', 'title', 'Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP take ahead of NBA Cup showdown vs. Giannis, Bucks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Shai-Gilgeous-Alexanders-MVP-take-ahead-of-NBA-Cup-showdown-vs.-Giannis-Bucks.jpg"></figure><h1>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP take ahead of NBA Cup showdown vs. Giannis, Bucks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-16T14:35:34-08:00">December 16th, 2:35pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-16T14:35:34-08:00">December 16th, 2:35pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup final on Tuesday. After beating the Houston Rockets 111-96, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-jalen-williams-honest-admission-playing-shai-gilgeous-alexander">Jalen Williams talked about Gilgeous-Alexander’s leadership</a> as a big reason why the Thunder have stayed atop the Western Conference (20-5) throughout the 2024-25 campaign. However, that same approach doesn’t ever change, whether against Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks, or any other NBA team.</p><p>During Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder’s NBA Cup media day, Shai <a href="https://x.com/thunderfilmroom/status/1868765765694099685?s=46&amp;t=r1n-d07DECxf6Tvlm4h8Xw" rel="noopener">discussed</a> his mindset before games against various NBA superstars, per Thunder Film Room’s X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>“I don’t differentiate games on who I play against. If we play the worst team, the best team in the league, I’m trying to take their head off,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I’m trying to be the best version of myself every night I step on the floor.”</p><p>The Thunder are heading into Tuesday’s NBA Cup final on a five-game winning streak. Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 28+ points in 14 of Oklahoma City’s last 15 games. He’s averaging 31.7 points on 53.3% shooting, 6.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.5 steals in his previous six games. Shai scored 20 of his team-high 32 points in the second half of the Thunder’s 111-96 win against the Rockets in Saturday’s NBA Cup semifinals.</p><p>In <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-best-world-take-dillon-brooks-battle">Gilgeous-Alexander’s matchup against Rockets’ Dillon Brooks</a>, he didn’t disappoint. Gilgeous-Alexander’s phenomenal second-half performance thrived against one of the league’s better backcourt defenders.</p><p>“It’s fun. It makes you better,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That’s what this league is about, competing against the best in the world, and defensively, he is that for sure. And I like to think that of myself offensively. So, he gives me a chance to really see where I’m at, a good test. I’d say I handled it pretty well.”</p><h2><b>Jalen Williams’ take on playing with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-All-Star-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander_3ee1ec.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After Saturday’s win against the Rockets, Thunder forward Jalen Williams <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGqXCOalKww" rel="noopener">talked</a> about what playing alongside All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is like.</p><p>“It has nothing to do with actually being on the court. I think the way he approaches basketball and his life outside of the court is something nobody else gets to see except us,” Williams said. “And us being as close as we are, I get to learn how he carries himself on and off the floor. I think that’s helped my development. On the floor, when you’re the guy on the team, you’re responsible for playing good or bad. I think he does a good job of carrying that and trusting us.”</p><p>The Thunder will look to extend their winning streak to six games in Tuesday’s NBA Cup final matchup against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP take ahead of NBA Cup showdown vs. Giannis, Bucks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-jalen-williams-honest-admission-playing-shai-gilgeous-alexander');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jalen Williams’ honest admission on playing with Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-news-Jalen-Williams-honest-admission-on-playing-with-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander.jpg"></figure><h1>Jalen Williams’ honest admission on playing with Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-16T13:55:14-08:00">December 16th, 1:55pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-16T13:55:14-08:00">December 16th, 1:55pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After Jalen Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and the Oklahoma City Thunder eliminated the Houston Rockets in a 111-96 win in the NBA Cup semifinal, the team’s two leading scorers remained reflective after the game. All-Star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-best-world-take-dillon-brooks-battle">Gilgeous-Alexander delivered a “best in the world” take</a>, and Williams talked about his experience sharing the floor with 2024’s runner-up for Most Valuable Player.</p><p>As Gilgeous-Alexander ascends into stardom in 2024-25, Williams is making tremendous strides in his own right in his first All-Star-caliber campaign. The dynamic duo has led the Thunder to the best record (20-5) in the Western Conference, a testament to Shai’s role as the Thunder’s first option and as the team’s leader, which Williams <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGqXCOalKww" rel="noopener">spoke</a> about after eliminating the Rockets.</p><p>“It has nothing to do with actually being on the court. I think the way he approaches basketball and his life outside of the court is something nobody else gets to see except us,” Williams said. “And us being as close as we are, I get to learn how he carries himself on and off the floor. I think that’s helped my development. On the floor, when you’re the guy on the team, you’re responsible for playing good or bad. I think he does a good job of carrying that and trusting us.”</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander also does a good job of staying in the moment. For Williams, the MVP talk and focus on SGA’s ascension aren’t prioritized for team growth, which Jalen appreciates.</p><p>“He just does a good job of staying within the team and not letting a lot of the outside noise affect him,” Willimas added. “He’s been the perfect role model for me and the rest of the guys to one day try to reach that level, and obviously, just try to help him during the season.”</p><h2><b>Jeff Teague’s bold Thunder’s Jalen Williams, Jaylen Brown claim</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-forward-Jalen-Williams-against-Celtics-forward-Jaylen-Brown.jpg"><figcaption>Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>As the second option for the champion Boston Celtics, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-jeff-teague-bold-jalen-williamsgood-jaylen-brown-take" rel="noopener">Jaylen Brown shares similarities with Jalen Williams</a> regarding Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder, according to retired guard and podcast host Jeff Teague. On his ‘Club 520’ podcast, Teague said Williams is elite, and he <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuonybEG_pM&amp;t=419s" rel="noopener">reminds him</a> of a younger version of Brown.</p><p>“I think Jalen Williams is a premier player in the league,” Teague said. “I compare him to a JB kind of player, Jaylen Brown. I think they’re very similar. Both can attack the basket really well, capable 3-point shooters, good defenders. I compare them two. I think he’s a young Jaylen Brown.”</p><p>Williams is averaging 21.7 points on 50.0% shooting, 6.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game this season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jalen Williams’ honest admission on playing with Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-best-world-take-dillon-brooks-battle');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s ‘best in the world’ take on Dillon Brooks battle');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-news-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexanders-best-in-the-world-take-on-Dillon-Brooks-battle.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s ‘best in the world’ take on Dillon Brooks battle</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-15T13:15:06-08:00">December 15th, 1:15pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-15T13:15:06-08:00">December 15th, 1:15pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After beating the Houston Rockets 111-96 in the NBA Cup semifinals, Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander talked about going one-on-one with Dillon Brooks. The Canada men’s basketball team teammates are friends off the court, and after head coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-stage-nba-cup-final-bucks-fastball-take" rel="noopener">Mark Daigneault set the stage for the final</a>, Gilgeous-Alexander talked about his battle against Brooks and the Rockets. </p><p>For Shai, it’s the best of both worlds facing off head-to-head, he <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGqXCOalKww&amp;t=185s" rel="noopener">said</a> during his media availability postgame.</p><p>“It’s fun. It makes you better,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That’s what this league is about, competing against the best in the world, and defensively, he is that for sure. And I like to think that of myself offensively. So, he gives me a chance to really see where I’m at, a good test. I’d say I handled it pretty well.”</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 of his 32 points in the second half of the Thunder’s 15-point win as the Thunder pulled ahead late. They finished with 36 fourth-quarter points, outscoring the Rockets by 16 (70-54) in the second half. Thunder starting center Isaiah Hartenstein finished with 21 points and eight rebounds, Jalen Williams added 20 points and five assists, and Lu Dort registered 19 points, nine rebounds, and three steals.</p><p>“We stayed to our principles, to our identity. We knew that we’d be able to kick in enough shots if we stayed with it, and we just focused on getting stops the whole night,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We knew if we did that at a high level, we’d give ourselves a chance, and that’s what happened.”</p><p>Amen Thompson’s 19 points off the bench led six Rockets players in double figures, including Jabari Smith Jr. and Dillon Brooks, who finished with 14 points. Alperen Sengun added a double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds), while Jalen Green and Tari Eason scored a dozen points.</p><h2><b>Mark Daigneault sets the stage for NBA Cup final vs. Bucks</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-head-coach-Mark-Daigneault-2.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After All-Star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-okc-messes-shai-gilgeous-alexander-nba-cup-postgame-interview">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s walk-off interview with his Thunder teammates</a>, head coach Mark Daigneault turned his attention to his NBA Cup final matchup against the Bucks. He anticipates the Thunder to continue to play at a high level.</p><p>One win away from winning the NBA Cup, Daigneault wouldn’t expect anything less from his Thunder team.</p><p>“We have a competitive group of guys… when you put anything on the line, the guys will be amped up for that… I think both teams will bring their fastball on Tuesday,” Daigneault said.</p><p>On Tuesday night, the Thunder will face the Bucks in the NBA Cup final in Las Vegas.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s ‘best in the world’ take on Dillon Brooks battle

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-okc-messes-shai-gilgeous-alexander-nba-cup-postgame-interview');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder mess with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during NBA Cup postgame interview');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-news-OKC-messes-with-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-during-NBA-Cup-postgame-interview.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder mess with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during NBA Cup postgame interview</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-15T07:54:10-08:00">December 15th, 7:54am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-15T07:54:10-08:00">December 15th, 7:54am</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>Owen Crisafulli is a Senior Editor and NFL Lead at ClutchPoints. He recently received his Masters in Business Administration from Nichols College. Previously, he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Sport Management and for a while ran his own sports website. Sports are his passion, and he thoroughly enjoys writing about thoughts and opinions that are related to the game. He has been a lifelong fan of the major professional teams in Boston and loves discussing all topics surrounding those teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the NBA Cup Finals on Saturday night thanks to a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-fans-notice-disrespectful-rockets-thunder-description-on-league-pass-before-nba-cup-game">111-96 victory</a> over the Houston Rockets. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-hit-unguardable-label-kendrick-perkins">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander</a> once again played a leading role in the Thunder’s latest win, and after the game, his teammates decided to mess with him during his postgame interview.</p><p>After a slow start, Gilgeous-Alexander eventually got going in the second half, and he finished with some big numbers when all was said and done, (32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, five steals.) His teammates mobbed him when he conducted an on-court postgame interview, and it ended up leading to <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1868152889056903240" rel="noopener">quite a hilarious reaction</a>.</p><p>“Yo, shut up, shut up,” Gilgeous-Alexander said to Jalen Williams at the beginning of his postgame interview on ESPN, which resulted in him and several of his teammates shaking their heads with laughter.</p><p>“We stayed to our principles, to our identity. We knew that we’d be able to kick in enough shots if we stayed with it, and we just focused on getting stops the whole night. We knew if we did that at a high level, we’d give ourselves a chance, and that’s what happened,” Gilgeous-Alexander said once he eventually composed himself.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“Yo on live TV tho… on live TV.”</p><p>The Thunder post-game interviews are always a MUST LISTEN 😂</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/espn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@espn</a>)<br> <a href="https://t.co/oo5M9zANv7">pic.twitter.com/oo5M9zANv7</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1868152889056903240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, </b><b>Thunder loved the high-stakes NBA Cup atmosphere</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-guard-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>With a trip to the NBA Cup Finals on the line, Oklahoma City delivered the goods, even after they labored through an ugly showing in the first half. Gilgeous-Alexander and company sure showed up in the second half, and the <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1868183458541162904" rel="noopener">environment</a> out in Las Vegas, Nevada may have helped give him and his teammates the motivation to send the Rockets packing.</p><p>“It was pretty sweet,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after the game. “We don’t play here every year, but the environment was dope. The fans were into it, (Las Vegas is) a basketball city, it was really fun playing out there.”</p><p>The Thunder have set up a date with the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup Finals, which will be played on Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 8:30 p.m. EST. If Gilgeous-Alexander can turn in another big outing like he just did against Houston, then Oklahoma City will have a great shot to come out on top in the second year of the NBA’s new in-season tournament.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder mess with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during NBA Cup postgame interview

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-hit-unguardable-label-kendrick-perkins');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit with ‘unguardable’ label by Kendrick Perkins');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-news-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-hit-with-unguardable-label-by-Kendrick-Perkins.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit with ‘unguardable’ label by Kendrick Perkins</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-13T13:34:14-08:00">December 13th, 1:34pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-13T13:54:49-08:00">December 13th, 1:54pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In their 118-104 NBA Cup quarter-final victory against the Dallas Mavericks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder sent a message to the rest of the NBA, according to ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins. Perhaps that’s the reason for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-playoff-feel-nba-cup-victory-mavericks">Gilgeous-Alexander’s playoff-feel remark after eliminating the Mavericks</a> on Tuesday. SGA’s impressive 39-point performance on 15-of-23 shooting, including five threes, compelled Perkins to give Shai an eye-opening label.</p><p>Perkins called Gilgeous-Alexander one of the best <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2Odg0Hfm-k" rel="noopener">“unguardable” scorers he’s ever seen</a>, per ESPN’s NBA Today.</p><p>“When it comes down to having that craftiness in his game, he’s one of the best I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Perkins said. “He’s the most unguardable perimeter player in the game.”</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander’s triumphant nationally-televised performance that carried the Thunder into the NBA Cup semifinals was on full display. Oklahoma City dismantled the defending Western Conference champions, avenging its Western Conference semifinal loss from last year’s playoffs, while sending a message across the league, according to Perk.</p><p>“They punked the Dallas Mavericks and set a message to the rest of the league that says, hey, we’re them dudes,” Perkins added. “And I guarantee you, if I was in that locker room, I know the message: physicality. They get physical all across the board, and I love it so much. Look, the way it’s looking, OKC and the Celtics are going to be matching up in June.”</p><h2><b>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder favorites to win the West</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-All-Star-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-1.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Hall of Fame power forward and NBA analyst <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-charles-barkley-explains-oklahoma-city-favorite-win-west">Charles Barkley says the Thunder are favorites</a> to win the Western Conference, while Kendrick Perkins arrived at the same conclusion on ESPN. Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has much to do with that as the team’s franchise pillar.</p><p>Perkins’ colleague, Shams Charania, highlighted the Thunder’s unique path of surrounding their star with a championship-caliber roster to compete on ESPN’s NBA Today.</p><p>“They have their roster set, and what they’ve done, you see what’s happening in Orlando right now, same thing happening in Oklahoma City,” Charania said. “You build it organically [and] they’ve made moves around the edges. Isaiah Hartenstein, they got him with salary cap space. Alex Caruso, they got him with a player on their roster that they felt was not going to be in their picture long-term moving forward: Josh Giddey. And they have all of their draft picks. Still, they have a dozen first-round draft picks.”</p><p>The Thunder could trade for any readily available superstar looking for a new team. However, it won’t be necessary with the best record in the Western Conference (19-5) and youth on their side.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit with ‘unguardable’ label by Kendrick Perkins

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-eye-opening-take-lu-dort-defense-vs-mavericks');   ga('set', 'title', 'Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s eye-opening take on Lu Dort, Thunder defense vs Mavericks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-news-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexanders-eye-opening-take-on-Lu-Dort-OKC-defense-vs-Mavericks.jpg"></figure><h1>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s eye-opening take on Lu Dort, Thunder defense vs Mavericks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-11T10:16:30-08:00">December 11th, 10:16am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-11T12:03:14-08:00">December 11th, 12:03pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Limiting Dallas Mavericks’ top scorers, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, is no easy task for an opposing defense. Still, that’s precisely what Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, and the Oklahoma City <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-playoff-feel-nba-cup-victory-mavericks">Thunder did in their 118-104 NBA Cup victory</a>. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder eliminated the Mavericks in the quarter-final round. Doncic tied his season-low 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting, while Irving (17 points on 7-of-14) wasn’t much better in their 14-point loss at the Paycom Center on Tuesday.</p><p>After the win, Gilgeous-Alexander <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1DlvWKRlyY&amp;t=871s" rel="noopener">praised</a> Dort and Wallace for their stifling defense, stating their assignments in containing the Mavericks’ stars set a precedent over his 39-point offense.</p><p>“Hell of a job by Lu and [Cason]. It’s more impressive to hold them that low than it is for me to get 39 points. To hold those two to that low really gave us a chance to win the game,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We felt like we had control of the game and the rhythm of the game because of that. Obviously, those guys have a big imprint on them offensively. Keeping those two in check like that is very rare. I don’t know if that’ll happen again. But hat’s off to those two; they took the assignment and passed the test tonight.”</p><p>Then, Gilgeous-Alexander highlighted Dort defending Doncic, reminding everyone why he’s one of the league’s best defenders.</p><p>“Lu was himself tonight. He felt like, in his shorts all game, 94 feet —Lu’s one of the, if not the best, perimeter defenders in the NBA. And we just saw another Lu Dort outing,” Gilgeous-Alexander added. “Then, we tried to show him bodies. obviously, he’s a really good player. We tried to make sure he was playing in a crowd, and he still had some crazy buckets, but we did enough to get a W.”</p><p>Dort also finished with 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal.</p><h2><b>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reacts to Cason Wallace, Thunder defense</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-All-Star-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander_f55a99.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Guards Lu Dort and Cason Wallace started alongside All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-alex-caruso-reveals-business-like-approach-nba-cup-showdown-vs-mavericks">Thunder’s NBA Cup quarter-final matchup against the Mavericks</a>. Gilgeous-Alexander credited Wallace, who isn’t an everyday starter, for adjusting for Tuesday night’s elimination game.</p><p>“He just adjusts on the fly. He does whatever’s needed. Some nights, it looks like him being more of a ball-handler; some nights, it looks like he is a spot-up shooter; some nights, it looks like he is just playing defense and not shooting,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It just speaks to his character and what he asks of his team.”</p><p>Wallace also finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and one steal.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s eye-opening take on Lu Dort, Thunder defense vs Mavericks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-playoff-feel-nba-cup-victory-mavericks');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on ‘playoff feel’ of NBA Cup victory over Mavericks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/0-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-gets-real-on-playoff-feel-of-NBA-Cup-victory-over-Mavericks0.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on ‘playoff feel’ of NBA Cup victory over Mavericks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-11T07:25:32-08:00">December 11th, 7:25am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-11T07:25:32-08:00">December 11th, 7:25am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Dallas Mavericks 118-104, advancing to the semifinals in the NBA Cup Tuesday night. They’ll face the winner between the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas. For Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, competing against the Mavericks reminded him of the postseason. After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-alex-caruso-reveals-business-like-approach-nba-cup-showdown-vs-mavericks">Alex Caruso talked about the business-like approach</a> to Tuesday night’s game, it felt different for Gilgeous-Alexander.</p><p>The two-time All-Star <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1866710544050508123" rel="noopener">talked</a> about the game’s intensity during his wall-off interview with TNT.</p><p>“It had a little bit of a playoff feel. A little bit more at stake than just a regular-season game,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I’m proud of the team. I’m proud of the guys. We rose to the moment.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"It had a little bit of a playoff feel… We rose to the moment."</p><p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after the Thunder advanced to the NBA Cup Semifinals 🔥<a href="https://t.co/9OpHK3iLdQ">pic.twitter.com/9OpHK3iLdQ</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1866710544050508123?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Gilgeous-Alexander is <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1866725683231330715" rel="noopener">excited</a> to head to Las Vegas, where the NBA Cup’s semifinals and championship games will be decided, per NBA’s X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>“We’re going to Vegas. It feels amazing. Not only getting the win but advancing to the next round,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’re on step closer.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“We’re one step closer.”</p><p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after sending the Thunder to Vegas, advancing to the semi-final of the NBA Cup 🏆 </p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBA</a>)<a href="https://t.co/m0TO0v919y">pic.twitter.com/m0TO0v919y</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1866725683231330715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Gilgeous-Alexander delivered a masterful performance, scoring 39 points on 15-of-23 shooting, including 5-for-9 from behind the arc. He also finished with eight rebounds, five assists, three steals, and one block. All five Thunder starters scored in double figures, including Jalen Williams, who finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.</p><h2><b>Alex Caruso reveals business-like approach for Thunder</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso-next-to-Thunder-guard-Lu-Dort.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After Oklahoma City <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-jalen-williams-drops-harsh-take-second-half-struggles-vs-pelicans">Thunder forward Jalen Williams called his team out</a> for a poor second-half performance in their previous win against the New Orleans Pelicans, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder played a full 48 minutes against the Dallas Mavericks. Then, Alex Caruso <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4JoikLYujE&amp;t=221s" rel="noopener">talked</a> about his team’s business-like approach heading into Tuesday’s NBA Cup matchup.</p><p>“Maybe a little bit. But for the most part, this is routine for us,” Caruso said. “We show up, go to work. Prepare the same way. Obviously, we know what’s at stake with the Cup game. Some of the young guys want that extra payday, and that’s some of the motivation, too.”</p><p>Still, Caruso knew he’d have his hands full against the Mavs.</p><p>“They’re giving good enough efforts defensively to compete, and then offensively, obviously, their talent speaks for themselves,” Caruso added. “They have great big that complement Luka and Kyrie, and shooting around that. If we play the way we’re supposed to, obviously, we can beat any team in the league. But they’re a really good team.”</p><p>The Thunder will take the next three days off in preparation for their semifinal matchup on Saturday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on ‘playoff feel’ of NBA Cup victory over Mavericks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-luka-doncic-honest-shai-gilgeous-alexander-breakdown-loss-thunder');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks’ Luka Doncic delivers honest Shai Gilgeous-Alexander breakdown after loss to Thunder');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Mavericks-news-Luka-Doncic-delivers-honest-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-breakdown-after-loss-to-Thunder.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks’ Luka Doncic delivers honest Shai Gilgeous-Alexander breakdown after loss to Thunder</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-11T00:03:46-08:00">December 11th, 12:03am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-11T00:03:46-08:00">December 11th, 12:03am</time><address><a>Michael Aaron Gomez</a>Michael Aaron Gomez is a creative writer and longtime NBA fan. He has been a fan of the Lakers since the three-peat but believes LeBron James is the greatest player of all time.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder have eliminated the Dallas Mavericks from this season’s NBA Cup, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander exploded for 39 points on 15-23 shooting while the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-luka-doncic-kyrie-irving-get-goat-backcourt-take-ex-nba-player">backcourt of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving</a> combined for a measly 33 points. Hounded by Luguentz Dort, Alex Caruso, and Cason Wallace, Doncic scored only 16 points on 5-15 shooting. After the loss, the Slovenian superstar broke down what makes SGA so tough to guard.</p><p>“He’s a great scorer. He gets his teammates involved… It’s amazing to play against a guy like that,” the Mavericks star said, via this clip from ClutchPoints on X, formerly Twitter.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"He's a great scorer. He gets his teammates involved… It's amazing to play against a guy like that."</p><p>Luka Doncic has high priase for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 👏</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBA</a>)<a href="https://t.co/ILRvcwb1CQ">pic.twitter.com/ILRvcwb1CQ</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1866720940257587605?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Mavericks fall in NBA Cup to Thunder, 118-104</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Luka-Doncic-and-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-in-the-playoffs.jpg"><figcaption>© Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander handily beat Luka Doncic on Tuesday, other Mavericks stepped up and picked up the scoring load amid their leader’s struggles.</p><p>For instance, Naji Marshall and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-dallas-completes-klay-thompson-acquisition-in-historic-6-team-trade">new signing Klay Thompson</a> paced the team with 19 points each, as Thompson shot 5-10 from three-point land while Marshall shot 7-11 and hit two threes.</p><p>However, the Mavericks could not stop turning the ball over, as the Thunder scored 36 points off 19 turnovers, which helped OKC break the game open in the third quarter. Outscoring Dallas 33-19 in the third, OKC built a 20-point lead and entered the fourth period leading 90-73.</p><p>The Mavericks cut it down to 11 late in the fourth quarter, but the Thunder had done just enough to win the game. For instance, Jalen Williams also poured in 18 points, while <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-big-splash-isaiah-hartenstein-87-million-contract">new signing Isaiah Hartenstein</a> put up a double-double of ten points and 13 rebounds.</p><p>Hartenstein’s presence in the interior filled an important need for the Thunder, who missed a bigger body in the paint for defense and rebounding, as the rail-thin <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-out-indefinitely-pelvic-fracture">Chet Holmgren (out indefinitely with a pelvic fracture)</a> could not afford to bang with other big men down low, as terrific a defender as he is.</p><p>Likewise, PJ Washington gave the Thunder so many problems in their Western Conference semifinals, which Dallas won 4-2, and the Mavericks certainly missed him on Tuesday as he sat the game out due to illness.</p><h2><b>Are the Thunder for real?</b></h2><p>The Thunder’s new additions may have <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/thunder-ready-to-use-las-vegas-nba-cup-to-assert-themselves-as-western-conferences-superpower/" rel="noopener">bridged the gap</a> between them and the team who went all the way to the Finals last season, which bodes well for a young team looking to take the next step and reach their first Conference Finals since 2012, and maybe even win the Thunder’s first NBA title in franchise history.</p><p>Looking at the Western Conference, one might not see another team that poses a clear challenge to the 19-5 Thunder, as teams with the tools to beat them–like the LA Lakers–are struggling to keep their seasons from slipping away.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks’ Luka Doncic delivers honest Shai Gilgeous-Alexander breakdown after loss to Thunder

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-reflects-representing-canada-2024-olympics');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reflects on representing Canada in 2024 Olympics');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/0Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-reflects-on-representing-Canada-in-2024-Olympics0.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reflects on representing Canada in 2024 Olympics</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-06T10:48:57-08:00">December 6th, 10:48am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-06T10:48:57-08:00">December 6th, 10:48am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is proud of his Canadian background. He was born in Toronto before spending his formative years in Hamilton, Ontario. After beating the Toronto Raptors 129-92 at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-addresses-guards-homecoming-vs-raptors">Gilgeous-Alexander talked about his homecoming and representing Canada</a> at the 2024 Olympics.</p><p>In an 82-73 win, France eliminated Canada in the quarterfinals. Gilgeous-Alexander spoke on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EHWeK35kz0&amp;t=929s" rel="noopener">disappointment</a> he shared with his Canadian teammates.</p><p>“I would say it hit more so when we were eliminated. The opportunity to medal and win obviously, we didn’t get a chance to do [that],” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Being in it, you kind of take it for granted. But every year, I get a chance to win an NBA championship, and every four years, I get a chance to try to win the Olympics. In four years, you never know what’ll happen.</p><p>Where I was four years ago and where I’ll be four years from now will be completely different. It’s a special opportunity, and if God willing, I’m around, I’ll definitely approach it [differently],” Gilgeous-Alexander concluded.</p><p>SGA enjoys playing at Scotiabank Arena. For him, returning to his Ontario roots never gets old.</p><p>“It’s amazing to play in front of people that are from where I’m from, grew up the way I grew up, [and] seen the same things I’ve seen,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s like a little connection, even if I don’t know them or not. It’s cool. I’m proud to be Canadian. To play in front of the Canadiens is a special feeling, whether I know them or not.”</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander will likely return to compete with the men’s Canadian basketball team in 2028.</p><h2><b>Thunder guard Lu Dort on playing for Canada at the 2024 Olympics</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/0Thunder-All-Star-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander0.jpg"><figcaption>John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-defense-makes-eye-opening-feat-vs-raptors">Lu Dort were one of eight Thunder players</a> with at least one steal in Thursday’s win against the Raptors. However, before the game, Dort <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFw4ihBSPqc&amp;t=19s" rel="noopener">talked</a> about what it felt like to be back in Canada, the team he represented in the 2024 Olympics.</p><p>“It was great. It was really fun,” Dort said. “I’m always proud to wear my country on my chest, and it was a great experience. We made history. It’s been a long time since Canada basketball made it to that. So, I’d be happy to do it again.”</p><p>Dort says the experience undoubtedly made him a better player</p><p>“It’s a different type of basketball, playing against the top players from all around the world. It was amazing,” Dort said. “It was a different experience, and it definitely made me better.”</p><p>The Thunder (17-5) remain atop the Western Conference and are 7-3 in their last ten games.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
30.6	5.6	6.1	1.1	2.0

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
30.6	5.6	6.1	1.1	2.0

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander news

Shai
Gilgeous-Alexander news