Gilgeous-Alexander drops 55 as OKC earns 2nd straight 2OT win - ESPN

INDIANAPOLIS — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander let out a long exhale as he sat down and leaned back in his chair in the postgame interview room Thursday night. The Oklahoma City Thunder had just finished their second straight double-overtime game to begin the season, something no other team in NBA history had ever done.

And for the second straight game, the Thunder pulled off the victory, outlasting the Indiana Pacers 141-135 in a rematch of last season's NBA Finals, which Oklahoma City won in an epic seven-game series in June.

«I'm tired, but it's expected,» said Gilgeous-Alexander, who set a new career high with 55 points. «It's a good way to break the ice on the season, shake the rust off, kind of bust the lungs up, get my cardio back.»

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault had planned to limit his team's minutes following its grueling victory over the Houston Rockets on opening night, and there was a moment in the first overtime period Thursday night — with the Thunder trailing 118-113 with 3:16 remaining — where he said it would have been easy to pump the breaks.

But Gilgeous-Alexander, who played 45 minutes Thursday after playing 47 minutes in Tuesday night's opener, wanted to keep going and didn't want to let a chance to win slip away.

«Two things. Being in the moment and understanding that we're down five, it's three minutes left, there's a lot of time left,» he said. «Then also understanding the beginning of the season is just as important as the end of the season.

»The difference in home-court advantage in the playoffs could be one game and one win. We know firsthand home court in the playoffs is very helpful, especially when you go seven games. So we don't ever want to take an opportunity for granted."

In Thursday's rematch,