League MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues torrid start by leading Thunder to another 2 OT win

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t satisfied with just one MVP season.

So he delivered an MVP performance in the NBA Finals and is off to a superb start this season.

The three-time All-Star scored a career-high 55 points, 15 coming after regulation Thursday to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a second straight double-overtime win, this time over defending Eastern Conference champion Indiana 141-135.

Gilgeous-Alexander stayed aggressive, challenged defenders and made free throws for his fifth 50-point game, tying Russell Westbrook for most with the Thunder.

“ It was no different than any other night. I attack,” he said. “I’m always going downhill. I had to put my aggressive foot forward.”

Gilgeous-Alexander took advantage of a game that featured 70 total fouls on the players. No. 71 was a technical foul on Pacers coach Rick Carlisle and, naturally, Gilgeous-Alexander made that one, too. He wound up 23 of 26 from the free throw line, 15 of 31 from the field with eight rebounds and five assists.

Plus, he was largely responsible for the Pacers, who are already short-handed, have three players foul out. They are without injured guards Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell, then lost guard Andrew Nembhard with a sore left shoulder in the first half. Aaron Nesmith, Bennedict Mathurin and Ben Sheppard later fouled out.

“It’s a lot, being guarded by one of the best players in the game, (Lu) Dort and then guarding the best player in the NBA,” said Mathurin, who was 15 of 17 from the free throw line and scored 36 points. “It’s definitely a challenge, But I mean, I’m up for it.”

How good has Gilgeous-Alexander been through the first two games?

He had 35 points, five rebounds and five assists in 47 minutes to lead the Thunder past Houston 125-124 on Tuesday and then torched the same team he beat in June’s NBA Finals.

Gilgeous-Alexander now scored 90 points, the fifth-highest two-game total in NBA history. Only Wilt Chamberlain with 106 and 105, Anthony Davis with 95 and Michael Jordan with 91 had more.

But the 92 1/2 minutes he’s already logged are taking a toll, and that may explain why he missed shots at the end of regulation and at the end of the first overtime that could have won the game.

“I’m tired,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, noting that’s also why he hugged some of his teammates following the game. “But it’s a good way to break the ice, to get my cardiovascular going. It’s not ideal, for sure.”

And it’s not just the Pacers or Rockets who will have to contend with Gilgeous-Alexander’s challenging playing style, either. He has a deft plan to keep him in the MVP conversation seemingly every night.

“Honestly, I just play and then if they stop something, I have a few counters,” he said. “If they stop those (counters), I have a few more counters and by then, usually, the shots start falling. That’s how all that happens.”

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