Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 43 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 117–112 road win against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Nov. 2.
Gilgeous-Alexander had four rebounds and eight assists in the game, playing 39 minutes in the major win that ended their two-game losing streak.
His performance also tied his career high with 35 field goal attempts, shooting 14-of-35 from the field.
Gilgeous-Alexander also recorded his 7th straight 30-point game against Cleveland, matching Tracy McGrady (2003-2006) for the longest streak against the franchise in NBA history.
SGA Reveals Mentality On Shooting Shots With The Thunder
With the injuries of his teammates, Gilgeous-Alexander is given the heaviest usage he has ever had in his NBA career.
That doesn’t matter for Gilgeous-Alexander, as he is counting on his process in making offense for the Thunder.
“I got those moments. And no matter what the past is, like, I’m gonna shoot the next shot with utmost confidence, like, I’ve made five in a row, and that’s just my mentality. Every time I shoot a shot, sometimes it’s gonna go in, sometimes it’s not. But I live in my results,” he said against the Cavaliers.
The Thunder are currently enduring a brutal wave of injuries early in the 2026-2027 regular season, leaving them without six key players.
Headlining the casualties is Chet Holmgren, who is sidelined for 8 to 10 weeks after undergoing a biological treatment to repair a small patellar tendon tear in his right knee.
Additionally, the team’s starting depth has been thoroughly decimated with dynamic forward Jalen Williams out long-term following surgery for a fractured left fibula and dislocated ankle, while guard Cason Wallace is also unavailable indefinitely after undergoing a procedure for a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
Defensive anchor Alex Caruso remains sidelined as he recovers from a right ankle sprain, and rounding out the injury list are Nikola Topic (back surgery) and Thomas Sorber (knee surgery), both of whom are still working their way back from operations.
The Thunder’s second-best player in the game against the Cavaliers was Ajay Mitchell followed by the all-around performance of Isaiah Hartenstein.
Thunder Center Reveals Team Is Moving Forward After Horrific Week
The Thunder may have suffered the most brutal injury wave in NBA history last week but the team is now putting it all behind them, according to Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein.
Hartenstein believes the Thunder is now in the process of moving forward after that horrific week of injuries.
“I think we’re at a point where stuff has all kind of sunk in now. We’re ready to move forward and ready to get back to the way we want to play and just approach each game like that,” he said before the Cavaliers game.
This echoed head coach Mark Daigneault’s observations of the team.
“We have a great environment of guys who are competitive. They play together, they’re professional and they work hard. That’s the stuff we always lean back on. It’s the stuff we’ve leaned back on during a lot of success around us, and that’s the stuff we’ve leaned back on during a lot of adversity to help us through that. It’s not the first adversity we’ve faced as a group. That’s how we’ve worked ourselves through that. That’s how we’ve strengthened through those experiences in the past, and that’s our challenge now. But we’re not asking for sympathy. We’re not going to make excuses. We’re going to accept the circumstances as they are and reframe the challenge but lean back on all of the same things that we’ve always leaned on.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Ties Career-High, Makes History in Major Thunder Win