Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is capable of handling this. In the closing moments of the Thunder’s Game 2 victory over the Spurs on Wednesday night, the two-time MVP sent that message to teammate Jared McCain.
With less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander ultimately put the game away with a jumper as Oklahoma City fended off a late push by San Antonio. SGA gestured with his right hand as he turned and walked back to the bench. He seemed to be encouraging someone to calm down as NBC and Peacock displayed the replay.
Following the game, he disclosed that he had been conversing with Jared McCain, who at the time seemed to be acting a little excessively.
Gilgeous-Alexander stated:
“Jared was yelling at me while I was shooting and I was just like, bro, I’m shooting. Don’t distract me,”
“That’s all. I wasn’t … I was literally just telling Jared to calm down. But that’s what great shooters do when they’re open, so …”
A professional basketball player saying anything like “don’t distract me by yelling” in front of a sizable crowd full of people who are always yelling is kind of comical. There is undoubtedly a method to the madness.
McCain scored 12 points on 4 of 14 shots to end the game. In Game 2, he was one of four guards for the Thunder to score in double digits after coming off the bench.
SGA scored 30 points on 12 of 24 shots in the end. He only received six opportunities to make free throws despite his best efforts to draw fouls.
