{"id":718538,"date":"2026-04-26T11:55:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T11:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/718538\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T11:55:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T11:55:07","slug":"shai-gilgeous-alexander-is-inevitable-and-its-why-thunder-nears-playoff-sweep-of-suns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/718538\/","title":{"rendered":"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is inevitable, and it’s why Thunder nears playoff sweep of Suns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>, after big-boying Devin Booker<\/a> for a layup, bowed his arms and barked at his bench.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t need it!!!\u201d SGA appeared to yell.<\/p>\n

As in, he didn\u2019t need the foul he thought he had drawn. Two points would do.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

You know what else Gilgeous-Alexander didn\u2019t need Saturday in the Thunder\u2019s 121-109 Game 3 win<\/a> against the Suns?<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t need Jalen Williams<\/a>, who was sidelined with a strained hamstring. He didn\u2019t need a ton of help from his teammates, who shot a combined 41% to his 83%. He didn\u2019t need to score 42 points, a playoff career-high, but he did anyway.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the inevitability of SGA. He does, because he can.<\/p>\n

REPORT CARD: Ajay Mitchell delivers for injured Jalen Williams as Thunder shuts down Suns in Game 3<\/a><\/p>\n

1 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) drives on Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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1 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) drives on Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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2 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives on Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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3 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) shoots over Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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4 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) drives past Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green (4) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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5 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives around Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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6 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives around Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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7 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) drives on Phoenix Suns forward Oso Ighodaro (11) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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8 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) shields the ball from Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen (8) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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9 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives against the Phoenix Suns in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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10 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives around Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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11 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives around Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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12 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) shoots over Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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13 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) drives around Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen (8) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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14 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) gets fouled by Phoenix Suns center Khaman Maluach (10) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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15 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) drives against the Phoenix Suns in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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16 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain (3) drives around Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen (8) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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17 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain (3) shields the ball from Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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18 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault reacts to a play against the Phoenix Suns in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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19 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives on Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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20 \/ 20<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs Phoenix Suns in NBA Playoffs Game 3<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) talks to referee Kevin Cutler (34) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

He\u2019s going to get to his spots. He\u2019s going to hit that stepback 3-pointer and swish that baseline jumper \u2014\u00a0the most bankable shot in basketball. He\u2019s going to draw fouls. He\u2019s going to score. He\u2019s going to beat you, no matter who\u2019s in and who\u2019s out. And then he\u2019s going to do it again, and again and again without wavering.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a metronomic quality to Gilgeous-Alexander\u2019s game. He\u2019s never off rhythm. Never off beat. Never off.<\/p>\n

The Thunder is 11-0 in first-round games in the last three years in part because SGA won\u2019t allow a slip-up. OKC will go for its third consecutive first-round sweep at 8:30 p.m. Monday in Phoenix.<\/p>\n

Only three players in NBA history have gone 15-of-18 in a playoff game like Gilgeous-Alexander did Saturday. Sam Jones in 1967, Michael Jordan in 1991 and SGA on Saturday. Hall of famer, hall of famer and hall of famer.<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander\u2019s 42 points passed Kevin Durant<\/a>\u2019s Thunder playoff high of 41. Only Russell Westbrook<\/a> has scored more points in a Thunder playoff game (Westbrook had five games of 43-plus).<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander didn\u2019t miss a shot until midway through the third quarter. And even then it seemed like the basketball regretted not going in. SGA\u2019s first brick bounced right to him. He dribbled in for the 12-foot jumper, making up for his miss from two seconds before.<\/p>\n

The Thunder, in its first playoff game without Jalen Williams<\/a> (hamstring<\/a>) broke even with the Suns when SGA was off the court \u2014\u00a0a win for OKC.<\/p>\n

TAKEAWAYS: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wills OKC Thunder past Phoenix Suns into 3-0 lead in NBA Playoffs<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Apr<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives around Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Ajay Mitchell started in J-Dub\u2019s place. Mitchell scored 27 fewer points than SGA despite taking two more shots than SGA.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Led by Alex Caruso<\/a>, who had 13 points and 130 hustle plays, the Thunder\u2019s bench outscored the Suns\u2019 bench 36-12. Dillon Brooks<\/a> (33) and Jalen Green<\/a> (26) did the bulk of the scoring for Phoenix as Suns star Devin Booker scored just 16 points on 16 shots, thoroughly outplayed by his Kentucky counterpart.<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander hit a trick shot from behind the backboard, but his last bucket was the silliest of all. With Brooks at his back, Gilgeous-Alexander faked left and then turned to his right, knocking down a 19-footer just as the shot clock expired.<\/p>\n

It put the Thunder ahead by 15 points with a little more than five minutes to play.<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander was truly perfect in the fourth quarter. He scored 12 points, going 3-of-3 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the foul line. He had four assists and zero turnovers.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander didn\u2019t need to justify why he was named Clutch Player of the Year, or why he\u2019s about to win his second MVP award, but he did anyway.<\/p>\n

Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com<\/a>. Support Joe’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

SGA highest-scoring playoff games<\/p>\n

1. 42 points: at Phoenix (Game 3, Round 1 2026)<\/p>\n

2. 40 points: at Minnesota<\/a> (Game 4, Round 3 2025)<\/p>\n

T3. 38 points: at Memphis (Game 4, Round 1 2025)<\/p>\n

T3. 38 points: vs. Minnesota (Game 2, Round 3 2025)<\/p>\n

T3. 38 points: vs. Indiana<\/a> (Game 1, Round 4 2025)<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: SGA turns in historic NBA playoff stat line as Thunder takes down Suns<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, after big-boying Devin Booker for a layup, bowed his arms and barked at his bench. \u201cI…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":718539,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3791],"tags":[5577,328,7,2292,1195,623,113,861,364,938,307,6,878,2065,472,4045,1846,254,209,604,6445],"class_list":["post-718538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-phoenix-suns","tag-ajay-mitchell","tag-alex-caruso","tag-basketball","tag-devin-booker","tag-dillon-brooks","tag-gilgeous-alexander","tag-indiana","tag-jalen-green","tag-jalen-williams","tag-kevin-durant","tag-minnesota","tag-nba","tag-okc-thunder","tag-phoenix","tag-phoenix-suns","tag-phoenixsuns","tag-playoff-game","tag-russell-westbrook","tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","tag-suns","tag-the-suns"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116470884888207595","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=718538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/718539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=718538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=718538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=718538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}