Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is putting up Most Valuable Player numbers and posting historic ones.
The Canadian guard on Wednesday scored 50 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns 140-109.
Gilgeous-Alexander became the ninth player in NBA history to score at least 50 points on three or more occasions in a seven-game span, the Thunder said.
Photo: AFP
The list includes Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor, but Gilgeous-Alexander brushed it off when asked about joining those players.
“Those guys have done so many great things with the game,” he said. “I’m so far off of that. Like, it’s cool, but I don’t think too much of it. The most important thing is to know I’m getting better through this process.”
Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 54 points in a win over the Utah Jazz on Jan. 22 and 52 three games later in a loss against the Golden State Warriors.
He called his success the byproduct of a bigger goal. The Thunder have the league’s best record at 40-9 and they want to win an NBA title after reaching the Western Conference semi-finals last season.
“Some nights it’s going to look like this, some nights, it’s going to look like missed shots,” he said. “Still playing through those [off shooting nights] and finding a way to win through those — that’s what I’m after.”
Elsewhere on Wednesday, it was:
‧ 76ers 101, Heat 108
‧ Hawks 125, Spurs 126
‧ Hornets 102, Bucks 112
‧ Jazz 131, Warriors 128
‧ Kings 111, Magic 130
‧ Nets 102, Wizards 119
‧ Nuggets 144, Pelicans 119
‧ Pistons 115, Cavaliers 118
‧ Raptors 107, Grizzlies 138
‧ Timberwolves 127, Bulls 108
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS