Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the second half against the Denver Nuggets during game three of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena. Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets away with dangerous play in Game 4

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated May 11, 2025 7:11 PM ET

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got away with something unbecoming of a presumptive NBA MVP.

The Oklahoma City Thunder star Gilgeous-Alexander came under fire during Sunday’s Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets. During the second quarter of the second-round playoff game at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, Gilgeous-Alexander had a pass picked off by Nuggets guard Christian Braun.

Facing a one-on-one the other way against Braun, Gilgeous-Alexander undercut an airborne Braun on the layup attempt, causing Braun to hit the deck. Here is the video of the sequence.

This is an EXTREMELY dangerous and dirty play by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pic.twitter.com/R8xpspqvok
— Ethical Hoops (only takes Ws) (@EthicalHoopz) May 11, 2025

While Gilgeous-Alexander was whistled for a foul on the play, the referees did not even go to the replay monitor to review the sequence for a possible flagrant foul. Thus, the three-time NBA All-Star Gilgeous-Alexander got away with just a common foul (and a negligible one at that since it was just his first foul of the game).

Braun was very lucky there because he managed to land foot-first before rolling over onto the ground. As such, perhaps Braun’s relatively light landing caused the referees not to bat much of an eye.

Nevertheless, that was a very dangerous move by Gilgeous-Alexander, especially on an airborne player. Thunder teammate Luguentz Dort committed a similar act on Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant during the first round of the playoffs, resulting in an injury to Morant. On top of that, another NBA player suffered a season-ending broken wrist, concussion, and facial laceration after being undercut on a layup attempt in transition during a regular-season game last month.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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