Oklahoma City – There is a feeling of inevitability about the notation capacity of Shai Gilgeous -Alexander.
“You can score 34 points before they even get on the plane tomorrow for the next match,” said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, after Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 in the Thunder’s 123-107 victory in match 2 Sunday on the NBA final. “The guy will score. We have to find ways to make things as difficult as possible for him.”
Indiana managed to succeed in this difficult mission when the Pacers stole the match 1. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 38 points in the competition on Thursday, but he was a volume scorer, pulling 14 out of 30 with only three assists.
He responded on Sunday with the kind of effective domination that earned Gilgeous-Alexander his first MVP prize this season, when he led the NBA by scoring with 32.7 points per game on 51.9% shooting. Gilgeous-Aalexander was 11 out of 21 from the ground and 11 out of 12 of the fault line of match 2, constantly discovering the defense of the pacers out of the dribbling by marking all its buckets except one in painting or from mediums.
“I am myself,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, whose 72 points in the series are the most by a player in his first two final games, going beyond the temple of Allen Iverson renown in 2001 by one point. “I don’t think I have tried to reinvent the wheel or get on the plate with a different state of mind. Just try to attack the game in the right direction. I think I have done a very good job so far.”
It was the 12th match of 30 points from Gilgeous-Alexander during these qualifying series, exceeding Kevin for most of the history of the franchise in playoffs.
“Yeah, not surprisingly at this stage,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault. “It’s just a bit what he does. He continues to progress and improve and get on every occasion in which he puts himself and that we have put ourselves.”
The death of Gilgeous-Alexander also presented problems with the Pacers. He recorded eight assists in victory. On several occasions, his assists from the two teams began beautiful ball movement sequences that led to large looks for his teammates.
“It is getting better and better, which is very impressive,” said Thunder’s co-star Jalen Williams, who collected 19 points and five assists. “Obviously, he is the MVP of the League. For him, continuing to improve is good. He just trusts us to play games.
“I think that when your best player is there and he trusts you to play, it just gives you more confidence. He understands it. I think it is one of the roles in which he has become really good and grew up, and it makes our team better.”
Gilgeous-Alexander harvested the ball for the assists at seven different teammates. This included 3 -point baskets by six different players.
“It simply shows his desire to create for other guys,” said Thunder Aaron Wiggins striker, who filed 18 points in 21 minutes on the bench and went 5 out of 8 to 3 points. “Obviously, everyone sees the points and how easy it can be for him to go there and get 30, 40 points. When he shares the ball, involving other guys, that’s when our team is our best.”
The release of Sunday scored the 11th Gilgeous-Alexander match during this race with at least 30 points and five assists. According to ESPN Research, it most corresponds to a player in a single qualifying series, a feat that LeBron James accomplished three times and Michael Jordan succeeded twice.
“It is MVP for a reason,” said the Pacers Myles Turner center about Gilgeous-Alexander. “He will go down, and I think we have accepted this. It is a question of slowing him down and limiting the role of the players. Some of their guys intensified tonight.”
Gilgeous-Alexander has an average of 6.4 assists in match career this season. He hit this up to 6.8 during the playoffs.
“The scoring and efficiency get a lot of shine, but it is really regularly improved as a playmaker,” said Daigneault.
As Gilgeous-Alexander considers it, this development was necessary to pursue its goal of winning a championship.
“No show, realizes what I try to achieve with this game,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “All the statistics and figures, they are fun. I do not play in space as much as I do without having them there. I do not open as much as I do without having the spinners there. Whether it is a slide or a whole, these guys are the reason why we are as good as us.
“The way I see it, I had no choice. They are ready for the moment, as I knew, and they have played.”
