The Oklahoma City Thunder looked like they were on the brink of going down 3-1 in the NBA Finals but rode a dominant fourth quarter performance in Game 4 to instead even the series at 2-2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had tremendous numbers yet again against the Indiana Pacers, and while his impact was hit-or-miss in the first three quarters, SGA stepped up huge in the fourth to push OKC across the finish line.
In the process, the league MVP recorded a stat line not seen in the NBA Finals since the days of yore. After the dust settled from a wild Game 4, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points and zero assists. Not one single dime.
According to Stathead, this makes SGA the first player to finish with 35 or more points and no assists in a Finals game since Jerry West in the 1962 NBA Finals with the Los Angeles Lakers. It is also only the third time that stat line has ever been recorded; along with SGA and West, Joe Fulks hit those same numbers in 1947 for the Philadelphia Warriors.
It is a shocking stat line on multiple levels. On SGA's end, he's earned a reputation as a scorer first but has always been talented as a distributor. The last time he finished a game with zero assists came in 2020 during the bubble in Orlando. More broadly speaking, his stats are reflective of a very low assist game for the Thunder; OKC finished the game with 10 assists as a team. They still scored 111 points.
A weird game for Gilgeous-Alexander. But a win is a win. The Thunder will try to take their first lead of the Finals in Game 5 on Monday night.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Records Stat Line Not Seen Since Jerry West in Game 4 Win .
