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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's historic streak of 20-point games is over
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's historic streak is over. The Oklahoma City Thunder superstar and reigning MVP scored 17 points in a 96-84 win against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, Oct. 22. This ended his streak of 141 straight games scoring 20 points or more, the longest streak in NBA history. He finished the first half without a field goal and his only points at the time were a pair of free throws. He got his first field goal at 11:32 in the third quarter with a jumper and then drained a key 3-point shot at the buzzer of the period. The bucket gave him seven points and put the Thunder up 70-64 after trailing by as many as nine. He made a charge at 20 again in the fourth quarter, but his 3-pointer with 1:44 to go prompted a Nuggets timeout and when both teams returned to the court, all 10 players (mostly the starters) for both teams had been subbed out. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault indicated postgame he was open to leaving Gilgeous-Alexander in, but that the two-time MVP made the decision to stay on the bench when he saw the Nuggets waving the white flag. "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, per ESPN. Said Gilgeous-Alexander: "I was gonna go out there, and then I saw that (they) had subbed, so I thought we should sub, too. You always treat the game with respect." The last time Gilgeous-Alexander scored less than 20 points was two years ago, on Oct. 30, 2024. He had 18 points in a 105-93 win against the rival San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama. The Thunder went on to win the 2025 NBA Finals that season. Oklahoma City started its 2026-27 season with a 116-104 win over the Spurs. Gilgeous-Alexander had 32 points, six rebounds and four assists. Gilgeous-Alexander was the top-ranked player in USA TODAY's preseason ranking of the top 100 players in the league. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's historic streak of 20-point games is over
