BBNBA: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a walking video game; drops 45 in OKC win

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander puts up box scores that look like runs scored on a Little League scoreboard. He routinely fills every single square with a crooked number like he is playing NBA Jam with the sliders turned all the way down. He did that on Monday night against the LA Clippers, posting an insane 45 points on 11-16 shooting, but that was just the headline. He also had nine assists, five steals, three rebounds, and two blocks in this 39 minutes on the floor.

A good chunk of those points came from the charity stripe, as SGA knocked down 15 of his 16 attempts from the line.

If those stats don’t do it for you, how about this one: Gilgeous-Alexander put up those numbers despite being the tallest player in OKC’s starting lineup at the point guard position. With notable 7-footer Chet Holmgren out on Monday, SGA, at 6-foot-6-inches, basically played point center.

Regardless of size or position, Gilgeous-Alexander has the Thunder sitting at 9-2 on the year and has a serious chance to do something special this season for Oklahoma City.

Other BBNBA Notes:

• De’Aaron Fox dropped 24 points for the Sacramento Kings on Monday, but without Malik Monk’s scoring off the bench (he was out with an ankle injury), the Kings fell to the San Antonio Spurs 116-96. Trey Lyles chipped in eight points in the loss for Sacramento, while Keldon Johnson posted 11 for the Spurs.
• Brandon Boston Jr. continued his Undertaker-like resurgence this season, starting for the New Orleans Pelicans and dropping a career-high in assists with 10. Not sure what has gotten into Brandon Boston, but I’ll have what he’s having.
• Reed Sheppard matched his career-high in points for the Rockets, going for seven points which included making his only 3-pointer.

BBNBA Statistics for 11/11/24

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	P/M	MIN
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)	134-128 W vs. LAC	45	13-21 (4-8)	3	9	5	2	1	+8	39
De’Aaron Fox (SAC)	96-116 L vs. SAS	24	9-19 (2-5)	6	3	1	0	1	-21	36
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	116-96 W vs. SAC	11	5-9 (1-2)	3	1	0	0	2	-4	25
Trey Lyles (SAC)	96-116 L vs. SAS	8	3-8 (2-6)	4	0	1	2	0	+2	27
Brandon Boston Jr. (NOP) [Two-way]	105-107 L vs. BRK	7	3-13 (1-4)	7	10	3	0	1	-1	35
Reed Sheppard (HOU)	107-92 W vs. WAS	7	3-5 (1-1)	1	0	1	0	0	+1	17
Antonio Reeves (NOP)	105-107 L vs. BRK	2	1-1 (0-0)	0	0	2	0	0	-4	8
Cason Wallace (OKC)	134-128 W vs. LAC	0	0-6 (0-4)	2	4	2	0	1	-8	20
Malik Monk (SAC)	96-116 L vs. SAS	DNP-Ankle

Tonight in the NBA

7:00 | Hawks @ Celtics
7:00 | Heat (Adebayo, Herro) @ Pistons
7:00 | Hornets (Richards) @ Magic
7:30 | Knicks (Towns) @ 76ers (Maxey)
8:00 | Raptors (Quickley) @ Bucks (Livingston)
9:00 | Suns (Booker, T. Washington) vs. Jazz (Tshiebwe, Juzang)
10:00 | Mavericks (PJ Washington) @ Warriors
10:00 | Timberwolves (Randle, Dillingham) @ Trail Blazers (Sharpe)