Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the newly crowned NBA MVP, dropped 40 points—a postseason career high—Monday night as his Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 128–126 to take a 3–1 series lead in the Western Conference finals.
Now, SGA and the Thunder head home for a chance to eliminate the Wolves and advance to the NBA Finals, which would be the franchise's first appearance since 2012.
Before putting up 40 points Monday, Gilgeous-Alexander's previous playoff high was 38 points, which he recorded twice. The 38-point outbursts both occurred this postseason, most recently in Game 2 against the Wolves Thursday. He also had 38 against the Memphis Grizzlies when the Thunder closed them out in Game 4 of their first-round series.
Along with the 40 points and new playoff career high Monday, Gilgeous-Alexander had 10 assists and nine rebounds during the close win at Target Center in Minneapolis—just two days after Oklahoma City's 42-point loss to Minnesota in Game 3 where SGA was held to just 14 points. According to Real Sports, he's only the seventh player to have a 40-point, 10-assist game in the conference finals.
In OKC's big win, no assist was bigger than the one shown below, where he somehow kept his pivot foot in place to get the ball to Jalen Williams for a huge three-pointer.
This pass was crazy 🤯 pic.twitter.com/87rUPHwoYz
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) May 27, 2025
Williams added 34 points for Oklahoma City. The Thunder's star trio of Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Chet Holmgren combined for 95 points, while the Oklahoma City defense held Minnesota stars Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle to just 21 points combined.
The Thunder now have an opportunity to close out the Wolves in Game 5, which tips off Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
More NBA Playoffs on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Sets Playoff Career High As Thunder Rebound With Game 4 Win.
