OKC Thunder Superstar Produces Much Needed Career Night

Desperate times call for desperate measures. The Oklahoma City Thunder began the NBA season in desperation mode, down All-NBA swingman Jalen Williams as he recovers from offseason surgery on torn ligaments in his wrist. In addition to missing their no. 2 scoring option the Bricktown ballers have seen missed time from Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe, Nikola Topic, Kenrich Williams and Thomas Sorber through the first two contests.

"This team never makes excuses. It's always ready for their moment. We saw guys step into the light and make big plays," OKC Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said postgame. "This team does a really good job of two things: being in the moment... and also understanding the beginning of the season is just as important as the end of the season. The difference in home court advantage in the playoffs could be one game and one win."

Oklahoma City has needed to lean on its superstar to close out these first two tilts, both ending in double overtime wins for the Thunder, where the reigning NBA MVP hit clutch-time buckets to seal a perfect start.

Against the Indiana Pacers, Gilgeous-Alexander followed up his game winning free throws on Tuesday to drive the dagger into Indiana on Thursday with his magical mid-range jumpers, tough rim finishes and body control leading to foul calls to earn 26 free throw attempts in this clash –– making 23 of them.

The 90 points Gilgeous-Alexander has scored are the most through the first two games of a season in Thunder history as he becomes just the fourth player in NBA history to have at least 90 points in that span to open a season – joining Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, and Anthony Davis.

After playing a league-leading 93 minutes through two games Gilgeous-Alexander calling playing back to back double overtime games "a good way to break the ice on the season."

Through the two contests, the MVP's basketball reference page looks folk hero-esq. He is averaging 45 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block per game on 47% shooting from the floor, 18% from beyond the arc but 82% from the charity stripe on a league-best 20 free throw attempts per game.

Oklahoma City saw Gilgeous-Alexander shoulder the load of a laboring offense at times last night, scoring double-digit points in three of the four quarters before combining for 15 points across the two overtime frames in Thursday's win.

While life will get much easier as these rotational pieces return, for now, Gilgeous-Alexander is putting on his superman cape to lead the Thunder to a 2-0 start.