After flopping and flailing his way to 13 fouls in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Oklahoma City superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drew nine more fouls in Game 2 Thursday night.
Unlike the foul artistry he put on display in Game 1, the majority of the calls he got in Game 2 were more legitimate. What's more is that he had drawn only one foul through the 21:38 of the game. Let's break them down...
All the 9 fouls Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drew in game 2 vs. the Timberwolves.
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) May 23, 2025
7 of them were shooting fouls, and one of the two common fouls was upgraded to flagrant-1.
Western Conference Finals, 2025 NBA Playoffs.
You'll be the judge pic.twitter.com/aQlXku9x5J
McDaniels clearly became frustrated with SGA hooking him with his off-ball arm. It happened numerous times, and it reached a boiling point with 6:14 to go in the fourth quarter when McDaniels shoved the MVP to the floor.
However, if McDaniels gets his hands to close to SGA, he's taking advantage and putting the Wolves forward's arm in the path of his collection, thus drawing fair fouls. It's smart basketball, albeit annoying for the team on the receiving end of the tactic.
"McDaniels gets his hand in there. Look, his hand's on the body, now at this point Shai's allowed to grab the ball and collect himself," ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson said. "It's the ones where he just gets the ball and body and collapses that teams struggle with."
Overall, SGA dominated Game 2 and he did it without flopping and after initiating minimal contact.
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