Jan. 24, 2026, 11:55 a.m. CT
Getting past Andrew Nembhard with ease, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went with the up-and-under move to finish through traffic for the driving layup in the final seconds. The bucket was the last of a monstrous outing that should’ve resulted in a win. And a game where OKC should’ve lived or died with the ball in his hands.
The Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t survive their recent uptick of injuries in their 117-114 loss to the Indiana Pacers. We learned that you can’t win a game when only three NBA players have positive contributions.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 47 points on 17-of-28 shooting, four assists and four rebounds. He shot 1-of-4 from 3 and went 12-of-12 on free throws. He also had a steal and a block.
Well, if there was ever a game for Gilgeous-Alexander to empty the tank, it’s this one. The Thunder didn’t have any other viable on-ball scorer. That was painfully obvious in this game. Jalen Williams remains out. Ajay Mitchell and Aaron Wiggins also joined him as guys out.
When Gilgeous-Alexander was on the floor, the offense flowed fine. Off, though, yeesh. Not enough Jaylin Williams DHO handoffs in the world could solve things. Those elements crafted a game where you saw the 30-point machine leave it all on the floor as a high-volume scorer.
The Pacers had no way to stop Gilgeous-Alexander. He knifed through their defense to get several looks. When that didn’t happen, he got to his mid-range spots without any problem at the elbow and baseline. Indiana had to resort to fouling him as he was relentless at putting his head down and barreling towards the rim.
Nembhard has had some success over the years — better than most, at least — but it didn’t matter. Gilgeous-Alexander was in the zone. He put up 29 points in the second half. He had 15 in the fourth quarter as he tried to play Superman and drag OKC to the finish line.
Instead, Gilgeous-Alexander painted a masterpiece that ended up in waste. He almost proved that you could win an NBA game with one high-end scorer. The short-handed Thunder couldn’t prop up enough help to make sure this performance stole headlines for the right reasons.
“No matter what, every team goes through injuries. No team has been 100% all year in the history of the game. Injuries are going to happen. It’s about the next guy being able to play,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We have a roster full of games that could, no matter what, come in and play.”
And then there was the final possession. In a vacuum, Isaiah Joe’s outside look was fine. The sharpshooter knocks that down in his sleep. But I feel like the ball should’ve been in Gilgeous-Alexander’s hands. Even if Indiana immediately doubles and refuses to concede a one-on-one perimeter look. Let the reigning MVP decide what to do next from there.
That’s happened a couple of times in the final possession of close games. The Thunder have struggled to let Gilgeous-Alexander decide the final result. Even when he takes over fourth quarters like he did tonight. The Pacers failed to prove they couldn’t stop him. So no reason to bail them out.
“Naturally, the ball is in my hands more because there’s less playmakers out there. I’m pretty sure my usage rate has been higher the last two nights than I was averaging when we were completely healthy,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Whatever the game calls for, I just plug in and do. If I need to be on it more in a certain situation, I’m on it. If not, then I won’t be.”
