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The Oklahoma City Thunder pulled out a thrilling 104-103 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, thanks to a 3-point buzzer-beater from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Trailing 103-101 with just under seven seconds remaining in the contest, the Thunder inbounded the ball and found their go-to guy, Gilgeous-Alexander.
After he forced a switch by setting a back screen for Luguentz Dort near midcourt, Gilgeous-Alexander received the ball, took one hard dribble to the right, sidestepped to create additional space from Clippers forward Nicolas Batum and launched his shot, which found the bottom of the net as time expired. The shot gave the Thunder their ninth win of the season. Check it out below:
The shot was probably especially sweet for Gilgeous-Alexander given the fact that the Clippers traded him back in 2019. In all, he finished the game with 18 points, six assists, three rebounds and a steal. Afterwards, he further made a young fan’s night by giving him the shoes off of his feet:
“I’m excited as hell,” he said after the game. “Obviously [it’s] a game of ups-and downs. I was bad for most of it, but I tried to just stay next play mentality, tried to do whatever it takes to get a W, and thank god we got one tonight.”
This wasn’t the first clutch triple that Gilgeous-Alexander hit this week. Just a couple of nights ago, he hit a long three with under five seconds remaining against the New Orleans Pelicans in order to tie up the game. Unfortunately for the Thunder, Devonte Graham proceeded to hit a preposterous 60-plus foot game-winner immediately afterwards, but Graham’s shot doesn’t make Gilgeous-Alexander’s any less impressive.
It’s been a tough season for the Thunder, but Gilgeous-Alexander has clearly established himself as a clutch shot-maker for the team.
