Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s night in Denver, Colorado started off rough.
The Nuggets bunkered down on him defensively on Saturday and he couldn’t get a single clean shot.
Every time he attacked the basket, a help defender came over to trap him before he could get a shot off.
This worked out for the Oklahoma City Thunder at times as Shai was smart enough to dump the ball off to an open teammate and many times, the teammate was able to convert.
But there were a few times when he had to pass the ball to a bad shooter with little time left on the shot clock.
And as you can imagine, bricks.
There were also times when he tried to get things going for himself offensively by taking on the challenge of scoring on aggressive defence. He forced tough shots but wasn’t able to convert many of them.
In the first three quarters, he made 5-16 shots.
You could tell by his movements and facial expressions that he was frustrated and discouraged.
He couldn’t contribute when his team needed him to score.
Luckily for him, however, his teammates were playing well enough to keep the Thunder in the game.
Jalen Williams was getting buckets (25 points), Chet Holmgren was denying shots left and right (9 blocks), and Jaylin Williams was knocking down big shots (11 points in the first half).
At the start of the fourth quarter, the Nuggets only had a 2-point lead (87-85).
Shai knew that if his team was going to get the victory, he had to get over this slump.
So, he went into the final quarter attacking. He started slowly, but ramped up his production as time winded down and shots started sinking.
And when his team needed points most, SGA turned it on. He made big plays defensively and offensively.
In the final 3 minutes of the game, the Nuggets led 111-103 and it seemed like the Thunder were not going to win.
But Shai led a charge that cut into the lead.
With 10 seconds left in the fourth, the Nuggets were up 1 point.
The ball was in Shai’s hands and he went to work. He knew that if he missed the shot, OKC would lose. But If he scored, they would be showered with praise.
He was on the left and he drove on his defender, Peyton Watson. He got cut off, so he busted out a spin-a-rooni, stopped on a dime, and went up for a fadeaway, where he swished the shot.
The Thunder were now up 1 point with 00.9 seconds left.
The Nuggets still had a chance to win, though.
But Nikola Jokic’s inbound lob to Aaron Gordon was swiped away by the Thunder.
OKC won the game 118-117.
Shai ended the night with 25 points on 45 percent shooting, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals.
This performance shows that even when things aren’t going your way, perseverance will tend to reward you.