Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander saw his historic streak of 141 consecutive regular-season games with at least 20 points come to an end Thursday night in a 96-84 home victory over the Denver Nuggets.
The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player finished with 17 points on 6-for-19 shooting at Paycom Center. Gilgeous-Alexander endured a difficult start, scoring just two points and missing all seven of his field goal attempts in the first half. He entered the fourth quarter shooting 2-of-13 from the floor before scoring 10 points in the final period, including a late 3-pointer that helped Oklahoma City pull away.
With the game in hand and 1:43 remaining on the clock, Gilgeous-Alexander was just three points shy of extending the longest 20-point scoring run in league history. Rather than staying on the floor to chase the milestone, he asked Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault to substitute him out after Denver emptied its bench.
“I was gonna go out there. And then I saw that they had subbed [in their deep bench]. So I thought we should sub too,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, according to the Daily Thunder. “You always treat the game with respect.”
Daigneault praised his guard’s decision, calling it a reflection of character. “The class that it shows and the perspective it shows. That was his substitution,” Daigneault said, as reported by the Daily Thunder. “Of all the things I admire about him, that’s up at the top of the list.”
Surpassing Wilt Chamberlain
The record run stretched nearly two full calendar years. Outlets provided slightly differing start dates for the stretch: Yahoo Sports tracked its beginning to late October 2024 after an 18-point outing against San Antonio, while NBC Sports and ClutchPoints recorded the streak as having officially begun on Nov. 1, 2024.
Last season, Gilgeous-Alexander eclipsed Wilt Chamberlain’s longstanding NBA mark. Chamberlain compiled a 126-game run of 20-point performances between October 1961 and January 1963, a record that stood untouched for more than six decades. Gilgeous-Alexander pushed the benchmark to 141 before Thursday’s contest, having opened the 2026 campaign with 32 points on Tuesday.
Despite his shooting struggles against Denver, the 28-year-old guard finished with a team-high plus-21 rating and added three assists, two rebounds and two blocked shots, according to The Oklahoman.
Thunder Move to 2-0
Gilgeous-Alexander also achieved a personal defensive milestone Thursday, recording his 427th career block to take sole possession of second place on the NBA’s all-time list for blocks by a point guard, The Oklahoman reported. John Wall leads that category with 439.
The Thunder relied on a balanced effort to defeat their Western Conference rivals on an evening when Denver’s Nikola Jokic was also limited to 13 points on 5-of-19 shooting. Jalen Williams led Oklahoma City with 21 points, while Chet Holmgren contributed 12 points and 17 rebounds. Guard Ajay Mitchell provided 12 points and five steals off the bench.
The Thunder (2-0) will conclude their opening homestand on Sunday evening when they host the Los Angeles Clippers.
