Coming off one of the best games of his career, Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will try to make history when the Thunder host the Boston Celtics on Thursday in a matchup of two of the top teams in the NBA.
With 20 or more points, Gilgeous-Alexander would break Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA record for consecutive games scoring 20 or more points.
Gilgeous-Alexander tied Chamberlain with his 126th such game, scoring 35 points and hitting a pair of 3-pointers in the closing seconds to help lift Oklahoma City to a 129-126 win over Denver on Monday. He also had a career-high 15 assists.
The Thunder come into Thursday’s game on a six-game winning streak, their longest since starting the season 24-1.
The current winning streak coincides with Gilgeous-Alexander’s return from missing nine games with an abdominal strain, though he missed one of the games during the streak on the first night of a back-to-back.
The reigning Most Valuable Player has late 3-pointers in each of the last three games to help lift his team to wins in close games.
“He doesn’t change his mindset regardless of circumstances,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. “He doesn’t break a sweat doing anything. … He never presses. He’s just got an unbelievable awareness of the circumstances, awareness of the length of the game. I think that’s one of his superpowers is he understands how long the game is and so he can make the right play knowing that he’ll get his cracks.”
Thursday’s meeting is the first of the season between the teams.
Both teams have played every other team in the league.
While the Thunder are working to hold off San Antonio atop the Western Conference, the Celtics are working to catch Detroit in the Eastern Conference.
Boston enters Thursday’s action 3 1/2 games back of the Pistons.
The Celtics are coming off a nine-point loss to the Spurs on Tuesday but have won 14 of their last 18.
Thursday’s game will be Boston’s fourth since the return of Jayson Tatum after missing the first 62 games with a ruptured Achilles.
Tatum is averaging 19.7 points and shooting 39.3% since his return. He has yet to play more than 27:10 in a game.
“I could play more,” Tatum said. “But, I mean, I understand the bigger picture. In the moment, I’m not thinking about my Achilles. I’m trying to compete, I’m trying to be out there, but it’s part of the plan, so I’ve got to stick with it.”
The Celtics’ Ron Harper Jr. is coming off a career game Tuesday, where he scored 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting, helping Boston stay in the game until late despite the first-half ejection of Jaylen Brown.
“His defense is just as impactful,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said of Harper. “Just another guy that can impact winning for us.”
Boston comes into the game second in the league with a 119.8 offensive rating — points scored per 100 possessions.
Oklahoma City leads the NBA in defensive rating at 106.2.
The teams are 1-2 in net rating, with the Thunder at 10.8 and the Celtics at 7.9.
