Shai Gilgeous-Alexander joins basketball royalty with latest performance in Game 2 of NBA Finals

We are all tied up at 1-1 after a couple NBA Finals showdowns in Oklahoma City, and now the series shifts to Indiana for Games 3 and 4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was brilliant, again, in the win and after his 34 point, 8 assist night he has joined one of the most elite lists in NBA history.

SGA shortlisted with MJ and LeBron

Let’s remind ourselves that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is only in his fourth postseason. This is only the second time he has survived through second round, and on his first trip to the NBA Finals, the MVP of the NBA is in rarified air. He has been the MVP of the postseason and has the Thunder three games away from their first title after putting up another historic night on Sunday evening from Paycom Center.

The 34 point, 8 assists night marked the 11th time he has gone for 30+ and 5+ assists in this postseason. Only two other players in the history of the NBA have had playoff runs like that of SGA. Their names are Michael Jordan and LeBron James. LeBron has done it in three different postseasons and MJ did it twice throughout his Hall of Fame career.

SGA averaged 32.7 points, 5 rebound and 6.4 assists in the regular season, leading the league in scoring and earning him his first MVP. This postseason he is averaging 30.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists.

Coach Carlisle: “mark him down for 34”

The Thunder don’t just need him to score the rock. He can do that with his eyes closed it seems. The Thunder are at their best when he is getting everyone else involved and that was the big difference from Game 1 and Game 2. In Game 1 he put up 38 on 14/30 shooting but had just 3 assists. On Sunday he was much more efficient getting 34 points on 21 field goal attempts and dishing 8 assists for a much more complete, and efficient night.

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SGA is going to get his points. He has shown that all year long. In the first two games of this series he set the record for most points through his first two Finals games. He will be more focused on distributing now that the series shifts to Indiana and the Pacers coach, Rick Carlisle, knows there is not much to be done about SGA getting or exceeding his average. “Shai, you can mark down 34 points before they even get on the plane tomorrow for the next game,” said the Pacers coach.

Game 3 of the NBA Finals is set for Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. ET. The Thunder have dominated for the majority of the first two games, but the Pacers are heading home having stolen home court advantage from the regular season’s best team. You can follow all the action from Game 3 with us on AS English, staring an hour and a half before tip off.