Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pointed to the Oklahoma City Thunder's depth after he endured another difficult game against the Memphis Grizzlies in their first-round series. (More NBA News)
After managing just 17 points in Game 1, Gilgeous-Alexander scored a team-high 27 points on Tuesday, but it took the NBA's leading points scorer 29 attempts to get there.
Despite his struggles, the Thunder led 32-17 at the end of the first quarter and never trailed for the remainder of the game as they cruised to a 118-99 win over the Grizzlies.
Oklahoma now lead their Western Conference quarter-final series 2-0, winning the first two games by a combined total of 70 points.
It's the second-highest point differential ever in the first two games of a playoff series, trailing바카라 웹사이트only the Los Angeles Lakers, who beat the San Antonio Spurs by a combined 75 points back in 1986.바카라 웹사이트
But the Thunder have come through with some off-shooting displays from바카라 웹사이트Gilgeous-Alexander, who바카라 웹사이트is shooting 32.6% from the floor in the series.바카라 웹사이트
"I feel like I'm getting the looks I usually make and just missing them," said Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 32.7 points per game on 51.7% shooting during the regular season.
"That's part of basketball. It's ups and downs, makes and misses. Because my team is really good, we've won two games by a decent margin.
"They've had my back these last two nights. Hopefully, I will pick it up soon."
Jalen Williams바카라 웹사이트(24) and Chet Holmgren바카라 웹사이트(20) starred offensively for the Thunder in Game 2. Oklahoma바카라 웹사이트had a 33-14 advantage in bench scoring, led by바카라 웹사이트Alex Caruso's 13 points.
They also had six scorers in double figures in Game 1, led by 10th man바카라 웹사이트Aaron Wiggins' 21 points, with바카라 웹사이트Gilgeous-Alexander lauding his team-mates for their contributions.바카라 웹사이트
"It's nothing new," Gilgeous-Alexander said of Oklahoma City's outstanding depth. "We've seen it all year. It's why we have the record we have."
Gilgeous-Alexander also had eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals.바카라 웹사이트
The Thunder have outscored the Grizzlies by 40 points with Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor in the series.
"He does so much [more] over the complete course of the game than just scoring for our team, and I think that's showing up," Caruso said.
"He might miss a couple shots that look routine that he might normally make.
"But if we're winning games how we're winning them, and he's having average days, I think that bodes well for us forward."
