Shai Gilgeous-Alexander achieved his short-term goals on Wednesday night and positioned himself to achieve his long-term one.
He had 34 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-94 in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals for a 4-1 series win and a spot in the NBA Finals.
"I know I wanted two things," he said. "I didn't want to go back to Minnesota. And then I wanted the fans to be able to enjoy the moment with us. I wanted them to be able to see it unfold in front of their eyes. I wanted them to celebrate tonight in our building, go home, get drunk, do whatever they do to have fun with the moment."
The league MVP and scoring champion did his part to make those things possible, and now he's got a shot at an NBA title. It was another example of how playoff basketball appears to have slowed down for him. He forced things at times in the first round against Memphis and in the second round against Denver. Against Minnesota, he was back to making the game look easy. He made 14 of 25 shots and committed just two turnovers in Game 5.
"I think he does a great job of playing aggressive and then letting the game tell him what the right play is," Thunder forward Chet Holmgren said. "Sometimes that's score, sometimes that's to pass. But you never really feel like watching him or playing with him - you never feel like he made the wrong read."