NBA coaches around the league have yet to crack the code on how to stop Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
So Warriors coach Steve Kerr kept his approach simple Wednesday night by going straight to SGA's enabler.
"I don't know what to do with Shai. I asked [Thunder coach] Mark [Daigneault] at one point to just leave him on the bench for a couple more minutes. He didn't comply," Kerr told reporters after Golden State's 116-109 win at Chase Center. "I think Shai came back in with like 10 minutes left in the fourth, and I looked down at Mark like, 'You can't give him two more minutes? That would be really helpful for us.' And he just laughed.
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"It's pick your poison with him. The good thing for us down the stretch is we had the lead, so we didn't mind giving up the 2s. We just didn't want to blitz or send a double-team at him and risk giving up open 3s. But it's easier to do that when you have the lead, and that's what that third quarter allowed us to get back in the game, and we didn't have to start scrambling on Shai."
Steve Kerr on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 52 points: “I don’t know what to do with Shai. I asked Mark (Daigneault) to leave him on the bench for a couple more minutes. He didn’t comply.” pic.twitter.com/wxmcHQ2cV9
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 30, 2025
Gilgeous-Alexander had 21 of Oklahoma City's 34 points in the opening quarter. He was well on his way to matching or surpassing the career-high he set just a week prior when he dropped 54 points against the Utah Jazz.
The NBA MVP frontrunner was just two points shy, finishing with 52 points on 16-of-29 shooting from the field and 18 of 21 from the free-throw line, with three rebounds, four assists and one steal in 39 minutes. Kerr's defensive scheme of letting Gilgeous-Alexander do his thing while trying to limit the weapons around him worked.
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Gilgeous-Alexander's partner-in-crime Jalen Williams contributed 26 points. The rest of OKC's starters combined for 10 points.
So, while Kerr's plot to convince Daigneault to rest his superstar a little longer didn't fall through, the Warriors coach's defensive approach was just enough to waste Gilgeous Alexander's 50-burger.
Defeating the hottest team in the Western Conference was exactly what the Warriors needed during uncertain times, and it should give them the boost they've been longing for as they embark on the second half of the 2024-25 NBA season.