{"id":7975,"date":"2024-05-14T14:58:25","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T14:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=7975"},"modified":"2024-05-14T14:58:25","modified_gmt":"2024-05-14T14:58:25","slug":"nba-playoffs-gilgeous-alexander-rallies-thunder-to-game-4-win-vs-mavs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=7975","title":{"rendered":"NBA Playoffs: Gilgeous-Alexander rallies Thunder to Game 4 win vs. Mavs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 10 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>

The stakes of Game 4 weighed on Oklahoma City superstar\u00a0Shai Gilgeous-Alexander\u00a0all day Monday as he waited for the 8:30 tipoff with the\u00a0Thunder\u00a0trailing the\u00a0Dallas Mavericks\u00a0in their Western Conference semifinal series 2-1.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old Gilgeous-Alexander called it \u201cprobably the most meaningful game I\u2019ve played in my career,\u201d but he said he didn\u2019t feel pressure when he checked back into the game after a brief rest with 9:30 remaining and the Mavs leading by six points. Gilgeous-Alexander was poised, prepared to seize the moment, but also conscious of not forcing the issue, as he said he had late in the Thunder\u2019s Game 3 loss here.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe aggressive, but be smart,\u201d Gilgeous-Alexander told himself.<\/p>\n

The MVP finalist found that balance down the stretch to lead Oklahoma City to a series-tying\u00a0100-96 win\u00a0at the American Airlines Center, scoring or assisting on 20 of the Thunder\u2019s final 30 points.<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 34 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. He scored 10 points and dished out 4 assists in the fourth quarter, taking over the game with a series of midrange jumpers off isolations then feeding his teammates for the game\u2019s biggest shots when Dallas\u2019 defense collapsed on him.<\/p>\n

Jalen Williams-Kyrie Irving Photo Courtesy: AP
\nKyrie Irving in action against OKC Photo Courtesy: AP<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s some points in the game I\u2019m doing the same thing you guys are doing \u2014 just kind of being a fan of what he\u2019s doing and, when some of those shots go in, just kind of making a face like, \u2018That\u2019s crazy,’\u201d said Thunder center\u00a0Chet Holmgren, who tallied 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. \u201cBut he\u2019s been doing it all year. I\u2019ve seen him do it since I got here, and that\u2019s just who he is. Tough-shot maker, but he does a lot more out there for us than just that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luka Doncic Photo Courtesy: AP<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was unbelievable,\u201d Mavs superstar\u00a0Luka Doncic\u00a0said. \u201cHe kept making shots, and maybe at some point we got to send double-teams. He\u2019s just too good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chet Holmgren sinks a free throw Photo Courtesy: AP<\/p>\n

Doncic, who is dealing with a sprained right knee and a sore left ankle, finished with more turnovers (seven) than field goals (6-of-20 shooting). Irving registered nine points for the second time in the series after being held to a single-digit scoring total only once previously in a playoff game.<\/p>

\n
\n \n
\n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Happy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sad\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sad <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Excited <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sleepy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
Angry<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
Surprise<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The stakes of Game 4 weighed on Oklahoma City superstar\u00a0Shai Gilgeous-Alexander\u00a0all day Monday as he waited for the 8:30 tipoff with the\u00a0Thunder\u00a0trailing the\u00a0Dallas Mavericks\u00a0in their Western Conference semifinal series 2-1.… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}