The Oklahoma City Thunder hope they don't have to play without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander much more this season. However, there are lessons that can be learned from Oklahoma City playing without its biggest star,

Kyrie Irving scored 25 points, Spencer Dinwiddie and P.J. Washington Jr. added 16 apiece and the Dallas Mavericks beat Oklahoma City 106-98 as Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed his first game of the season.

For Cleveland, it was death by a thousand cuts. The Thunder topped that 30-2 run with back-to-back pick-six turnovers — with the demoralized Cavs barely bothering to jog back on the second one — shortly after a technical foul on Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson for intercepting a ref on the sideline and screaming “Call the f—ing foul!”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 of his 27 points from the foul line to overcome his worst shooting performance of the season and help the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 136-95 rout of the Washington Wizards.

Other than an NBA championship, this individual accomplishment is rare to come by, as only 36 players have received such nods in the association's history. With the 2024-25 season approaching the halfway mark,

Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers will host Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder in a historic NBA matchup

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points and Jalen Williams had 24 to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-102 win over a Philadelphia 76ers team missing three All-Stars.

Alexander, the NBA's leading scorer at 31.6 points per game, missed his first game of the season Friday night against the Dallas

Brooklyn Nets (14-27, 12th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (34-7, first in the Western Conference)

Alexander, the NBA’s leading scorer at 31.6 points per game, missed his first game of the season against the Dallas Mavericks with a sore right wrist.

What should we expect from Jimmy Butler rejoining the Heat this week? And why Oklahoma City should be feeling thankful.