Gilgeous-Alexander's record 20-point streak ends in Thunder win - ESPN

Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his first game under 20 points in nearly two years, finishing with 17 points in Thursday night's 96-84 home win over the Denver Nuggets to snap his NBA record streak of 20-point games.

Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 32 points in a convincing win over San Antonio on Tuesday night, shot just 6-of-19 from the field against Denver in failing to reach 20 points for the first time since Oct. 30, 2024, a streak of 141 regular-season games.

He had just under two minutes left to score three more points and extend his streak, but with Oklahoma City up 93-76 with 1:43 left, he asked Thunder coach Mark Daigneault to sub him out.

«I was gonna go out there, and then I saw that [the Nuggets] had subbed, so I thought we should sub, too,» Gilgeous-Alexander said. «You always treat the game with respect.»

Daigneault said he wanted to leave Gilgeous-Alexander in the game because an «historic streak» was on the line and praised his star player's maturity.

«I just think of the class that it shows and the perspective that it shows for him to say, 'Hey, I'm out now. The game's calling for me to be subbed out,'» Daigneault said. «That was his substitution. And of all the things that I admire about him, that's toward the top of the list in terms of moments that I appreciate about him.»

Gilgeous-Alexander, the league's two-time reigning MVP, missed all seven shots he took in the first 24 minutes Thursday night as the Thunder trailed by as many as nine points. A pair of free throws kept him from going scoreless in a half for the first time since his rookie year with the Clippers in 2019.

It marked just the fourth time in 450 games with the Thunder he has gone without a field goal in a half.