BBNBA: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drops 4th straight 30-point game

We should just rename these daily BBNBA posts after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

For the fourth consecutive game, SGA poured in at least 30 points for his Oklahoma City Thunder squad. The former Kentucky Wildcat turned early-season MVP candidate put up 32 points on Saturday against the Houston Rockets, shooting 12-21 overall from the floor and a perfect 7-7 from the line while also adding three rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals to his stat line. SGA has put up a total of 123 points over his last four outings, although it hasn’t come with much team success — OKC is 1-3 during that stretch.

But to help put in perspective how incredible Gilgeous-Alexander has played during his fifth NBA season, the 24-year-old has finished with at least 30 points in a game this season more than twice the amount of times (14, which leads the league) he’s gone under that number (five). OKC is only 8-12 on the year, but would easily be the worst team in the NBA without him. If you haven’t watched him yet this season, find the time to do so. He’s averaging 31.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.3 blocks in 35.8 minutes per game on an efficient shooting split of 51.5/35.7/92.2.

Booker’s 27 leads Suns over Vanderbilt’s Jazz

It wasn’t the most efficient scoring night for Devin Booker, as he needed 27 shots to reach his 27 points, but it was enough to lead the Phoenix Suns past the Utah Jazz 113-112. Booker connected on just eight of his attempts, including a 1-7 mark from distance, but still managed a near triple-double with 11 rebounds and seven assists to just two turnovers. Deandre Ayton’s 29 points and 21 rebounds propelled the Suns to victory.

After the game, Booker admitted he tried to switch up the vibe heading out of the halftime break. He was just 3-13 from the field in the opening two quarters and hoped that a change in shoes would work. Unfortunately, he shot just 5-14 the rest of the way, but he provided us with this great quote, per Gerald Bourguet.

Devin Booker on switching up his shoes at halftime to change up the mojo: "I've done it a few times….shit didn't work."

— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) November 27, 2022

On the losing end for the Utah Jazz, Jarred Vanderbilt went for six points and seven rebounds on 3-4 shooting in his 23 minutes of action.

Keldon Johnson’s shooting struggles continue

While it was a good night in the scoring column for San Antonio Spurs’ budding star Keldon Johnson, it was anything but an efficient night for the 23-year-old. He finished with 26 points — his most since scoring 29 on Nov. 11 — but he shot just 10-28 from the field. Johnson did grab 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season but finished with a -13 as the Spurs fell to the Anthony Davis-less Los Angeles Lakers by five, 143-138.

Following a surprising 5-2 start to the year, San Antonio has since gone 1-13 and lost it’s last eight, six of them by double-digits. As we’ve mentioned before, Johnson sat out one game on Nov. 17 due to an ankle injury. Prior to then, he shot 45.1 percent from the floor and 42.3 percent from distance across a 14-game span. In the five games since his return? He’s at a horrendous 28.4 percent from the field and an even worse 16.7 percent from deep.

For the Lakers, the win was it’s fifth out of six attempts, putting the franchise at 7-11 on the season. Davis, who had been dominating the last two weeks, was sidelined with a minor calf injury but is expected to return for Los Angeles on Monday against the Indiana Pacers. Without Davis in the lineup, it was another former Wildcat, Wenyen Gabriel, who stepped up for the Lakers. Gabriel saw just under 22 minutes of action, his most since Nov. 7, as he recorded 15 points, four rebounds, and two blocks on 5-8 shooting (2-4 from deep).

11/26/22 statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)	105-118 L @ HOU	32	12-21 (1-3)	3	3	2	0	3	-9	27
Devin Booker (PHX)	113-112 W vs. UTA	27	8-27 (1-7)	11	7	0	0	2	-4	39
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	138-143 L vs. LAL	26	10-28 (3-9)	10	3	2	1	0	-13	36
Wenyen Gabriel (LAL)	143-138 W @ SAS	15	5-8 (2-4)	4	1	1	2	2	1	22
Jarred Vanderbilt (UTA)	112-113 L @ PHX	6	3-4	7	1	1	0	0	-9	23
Anthony Davis (LAL)	143-138 W @ SAS	DNP-Calf	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Today in the NBA

3:00: Trail Blazers (Sharpe) @ Nets
3:30: Warriors @ Timberwolves (Towns)
4:00: Pacers (Jackson) @ Clippers (Wall)
5:00: Heat (Adebayo, Herro) @ Hawks
6:00: Wizards @ Celtics
6:00: Cavaliers @ Pistons (Diallo, Knox, Noel)
6:00: Grizzlies @ Knicks (Quickley, Randle)
6:00: 76ers (Maxey: out) @ Magic
8:00 (NBA TV): Mavericks @ Bucks