Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder recently took care of business by eliminating a Zion Williamson-less New Orleans Pelicans team in the first round. But during that pivotal Game 4, the MVP candidate tweaked his ankle, a development that can possibly derail OKC’s playoff push.
In the final game of their playoff series, the Thunder took home the 97-89 victory against New Orleans. Both Gilgeous-Alexander and sophomore Jalen Williams posted 24 points to lead OKC to a clean 4-0 over the Pelicans. Chet Holmgren and Josh Giddey both finished the game with 14 points each.
The Pelicans, on the other hand, were led by CJ McCollum’s 20-point performance on 56 percent shooting from the field. Jonas Valunciunas contributed a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Naji Marshal made 16 points from the bench.
Without Zion Williamson in the lineup, the Pelicans were unable to respond to OKC’s offense, a system that has revolved around Gilgeous-Alexander all season long. Add talented pieces in Holmgren and Williams to the mix and New Orleans got schooled by the NBA’s second youngest lineup in four games.
At some point during the first quarter, SGA backed down after attempting a three-point shot, which led to the MVP candidate tweaking his ankle in the process. And even though he limped for a bit, the Thunder star managed to finish the game.
Shai suffered a nasty ankle injury in the first quarter
Hoping he’s alright pic.twitter.com/49Irpjb5XQ
— Mark Jackson’s Burner (@casualtakeking) April 30, 2024
After the match, head coach Mark Daigneault faced the media and explained how the OKC guard is doing. In a video shared by Brandon Rahbar on X:
Mark Daigneault on SGA’s ankle: “Just tweaked it. Obviously good enough to go back into the game. He’ll need treatment. These next couple days will really help him.
Obviously didn’t impact his availability in tonight’s game, nor should it moving forward.”
OKC sweeping tonight… https://t.co/mW74Mbl4fl
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) April 30, 2024
The Thunder are set to face the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers-Dallas Mavericks series, a showdown which is now tied to two games per team. Since they completed a sweep against NOLA, Gilgeous-Alexander will get a couple of days to heal up and return to a 100 percent before starting the next round.
It remains to be seen how the OKC point guard will perform once they face either the Clippers or the Luka Doncic-led Mavericks. What’s certain, though, is that Gilgeous-Alexander is the most important piece in Oklahoma City’s lineup and all their championship plans fail if he goes down with an injury.
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