![]() ![]() More: How Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's journey to NBA All-Star Game took off before 2020 bubble It was the first 3-point attempt of his NBA career. The Jazz’s first play was drawn up for a Kessler 3-pointer, which he drained. Lost in the wild ending was a crazy beginning involving Kessler. “I feel like I’ve been playing against him forever,” Williams said. Thunder center Jaylin Williams and Jazz center Walker Kessler played against each other in high school, in college, and on Thursday night, the rookies battled each other from the opening tip in an NBA game. More: 'Tried to soak it up:' OKC Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes NBA All-Star Game debut SEC battle: Jaylin Williams vs. He looked at the Thunder bench and mimicked the move as he backpedaled down the floor. Once free, Gilgeous-Alexander kissed a midrange shot off the glass. Without dribbling, SGA faked and dipped and shook Agbaji clear out of reach. Late in the second quarter, Agbaji stonewalled SGA on a drive, but Agbaji’s job wasn’t done. SGA’s highlight of the night came courtesy of Jazz rookie Ochai Agbaji. He and Markkanen put on a show at Vivint Arena, where just days before they represented their teams as All-Stars. SGA had eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals in the loss. The four misses (one in overtime) were uncharacteristic, but the 19 attempts tied a career high. Gilgeous-Alexander shot 15-of-19 from the foul line in his 39-point night. It was fitting that it happened on a free throw. SGA (5,206) trails only Russell Westbrook (18,859), Kevin Durant (15,942) and Serge Ibaka (6,054) for most points in Thunder history. With that, Gilgeous-Alexander passed Steven Adams for fourth place on the Thunder’s all-time scoring list. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stepped to the line in the third quarter and made a free throw for his 25th point of the night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander passes Steven Adams on Thunder scoring list More: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander planned to wear 'swaggy' Thunder jacket years before NBA All-Star Weekend “Wow … I’ve played him previously on different teams, and he looks like a completely different player this year.” “He had 43?” Thunder forward Kenrich Williams said when asked about Markkanen’s night. Markkanen made all three free throws, giving him 43 points on the night. It’s a tough one, because Markkanen’s got size on him, so if you don’t contest him, Markkanen can shoot over you.” ![]() “At the end of the day, he delivers on a lot of those situations. “There’s no situation we’d like more than Lu on an island against their best player late in the game,” Daigneault said. With four seconds left in overtime and the Jazz down by two points, Markkanen, the Jazz’s All-Star, was fouled on a 3-point attempt by Thunder guard Lu Dort.ĭort raised his hands in disbelief, but the call was upheld after Daigneault challenged it. “The locker room was disappointed, which is a good thing,” Daigneault said. The Thunder (28-30), with 24 games to go, is a half-game behind Utah and Golden State for the last play-in spot. “It kind of shows the significance of the last stretch, especially teams in the race and trying to make a push for the playoffs like ourselves,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. The loss, in OKC’s first game after the All-Star break against a Utah team it’s jockeying with in the standings, appeared to weigh heavy on Gilgeous-Alexander. More: Will the Thunder make NBA Playoffs? Here's a look at OKC's post All-Star break schedule The Jazz beat the Thunder 120-119 in an overtime thriller Thursday night in Salt Lake City. “I thought it was going in,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. Markkanen’s go-ahead third free throw went in, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s ensuing game-winning attempt bounced off the backboard and rimmed out at the buzzer. SALT LAKE CITY - Thunder coach Mark Daigneault took a swig of water between Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen’s second and third game-deciding free throws. Watch Video: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander talks about Thunder's best dunkers ![]()
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