Latest news with #GilgeousAlexander
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Drake Loses $800K Bet On NBA Finals Following Thunder's Game 6 Upset
Drake Loses $800K Bet On NBA Finals Following Thunder's Game 6 Upset originally appeared on Fadeaway World. The Indiana Pacers dominated the OKC Thunder in Game 6 to force a Game 7 in the NBA Finals. They won the game 108-91 and now head to Oklahoma to decide who wins the NBA championship. Advertisement Before the game, hip-hop sensation Drake posted a picture on his IG story where he confirmed betting $800,000 on the Thunder beating the Pacers to close out their series in six games and win the NBA championship. Now that the Pacers have won Game 6, Drake has lost that gamble. The Pacers had a dominant second quarter and took a 22-point lead to end the first half (64-42). The Pacers extended their lead to as far as 31 points before the Thunder waved the white flag and pulled out their starters at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Where Did It All Go Wrong For The Thunder? When Gilgeous-Alexander had a rough start to the game and had three turnovers in the first quarter, it felt like the game was not going to go the Thunder's way. He struggled tonight and scored only 21 points while attempting only one three-pointer, which he failed to make. Advertisement But the main struggle for him was the turnovers. He recorded the most turnovers in a single game for his entire career as he finished the game with eight of those. The poor start seemed to impact his confidence as he only attempted 15 shots before the reigning MVP was done for the night, while averaging almost 22 shots per game. For the Pacers, six players scored in double digits as Obi Toppin led all scorers with 20 points. Tyrese Haliburton made his first shot from the left side of the basket, as the injured Pacers star did not play most of the fourth quarter but provided a necessary spark for them to build the lead initially. The highlight of the game for the Pacers would be the Pascal Siakam poster dunk on Jalen Williams in the second quarter that essentially broke their spirits to even try and pull off a comeback. The play was started by a Tyrese Haliburton steal on the other end of the floor before a perfect 'no-look' dime set Siakam up for a thunderous slam. Drake Has Lost Millions On Sports Betting Earlier this week, Drake posted a screenshot on his Instagram story, which revealed the lesser desirable side of sports betting, his losses. According to the screenshots, he has lost over $8 million over the past month on sports betting. While presumably most of it is on the NBA Playoffs, it is not limited to just basketball. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the Canadian rapper has a net worth of over $250 million. Therefore, his gambling losses are only 3.2% of his net worth. Nonetheless, it revealed the risk that Drake regularly takes while putting money on his favorite sports teams. Advertisement Related: NBA Fans React After Drake Bets $620K Against The Lakers In Game 3 This story was originally reported by Fadeaway World on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Gilgeous-Alexander supports Williams with 31 points, 10 assists to put Thunder 1 win from NBA title
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the NBA's Most Valuable Player this season primarily by being a dominant scorer. In Game 5 of the NBA Finals, he showed he's pretty good as a more traditional point guard, too. He had 31 points and 10 assists in a secondary role to Jalen Williams as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers 120-109 on Monday night. The Thunder took a 3-2 lead in the series and now are a win short of their first NBA title. Gilgeous-Alexander was the league's scoring champion this season, and he has led the team in scoring in all but four playoff games. Even when Williams has had breakout performances, they've largely been secondary to Gilgeous-Alexander's gaudy numbers. Not this time. Williams scored a career playoff-high 40 points, so Gilgeous-Alexander didn't need to force things against Indiana's constant double-teams. Gilgeous-Alexander still produced big numbers, going 9 for 21 from the field and making 13 of 14 free throws. But he was thrilled that Williams took the lead role. 'He can shoulder a load,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'I've said this before — he does so many things for us as a basketball team on both ends of the floor when he's the best version of himself ... he was great tonight. Makes a world of a difference when he's that good, for sure.' It makes sense that Indiana paid extra attention to Gilgeous-Alexander, who joined Kobe Bryant, Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan on Monday as the only players with 15 or more games with at least 30 points in a postseason. But Williams solved Indiana's defense again in his third straight game with at least 26 points. And when the Pacers tried to rally in the fourth quarter, Williams scored 11 points in the final period and Gilgeous-Alexander had nine points and four assists. 'Thought those guys played really well in the two-man game,' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. 'Controlled the clock, controlled the game down the stretch, paced us ahead of them.' It's all part of Gilgeous-Alexander's master plan. After last season's loss to Dallas in the Western Conference semifinals, Gilgeous-Alexander talked about stepping back a bit at times to help his teammates develop so they could be ready to help him at critical times. It all clicked for Williams at just the right time. He made 14 of 25 field goals and 9 of 12 free throws on Monday night. He said he's thankful to be in a position where his teammates want him to succeed. 'I'm just in a really, really good situation that's allowed me to grow as a player at a more rapid rate because I'm not worried about what if I fail,' he said. 'I know I have guys that pick me up when I fall short. I try and do the same thing for them. I think our team chemistry's something that's got us here, kept us strong.' Gilgeous-Alexander believes Williams has great games ahead. He hopes the next one is in Game 6 in Indianapolis. 'I'm not surprised by his performance tonight' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'Like, the kid works super hard. He has the right intentions. He deserves this moment. Now with that being said, we got one more game to win, and I know he's not satisfied by this performance.' ___ AP NBA:
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
With minutes left before their title dreams faded, Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder's biggest stars stepped up
NDIANAPOLIS — "He never blinks, never shies away from the moment." Alex Caruso's description of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is apt. This was the biggest moment in Gilgous-Alexander's young career, and there may not be a more crucial one in the future. The MVP-leader of Oklahoma City had been bottled up again by the physicality and pressure of Indiana's defense for three and a half quarters. Every possession was tough for him, the Thunder couldn't shake SGA free. He couldn't get his teammates going and had zero assists on the night. Advertisement With 3:52 left in the game, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault leaned into his stars — he started asking for Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams pick-and-rolls. The goal was to force a switch and get Aaron Nesmith off SGA and get Andrew Nembhard on him — Gildgeous-Alexander shot 6-of-9 for the game with Nembhard as his primary defender. It worked. This pick-and-roll threw off the Pacers' defense just enough to allow SGA to score 15 of the Thunder's final 16 points (eight from the free throw line) in the final four minutes of the game and secure the win and tie the NBA Finals 2-2 heading back to Oklahoma City. " Winning, especially this time of the season, it comes down to the moments, it's going to come down to late game," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Every team is good. There's rarely going to be a blowout. It comes down to the moments and who is willing to make winning plays on both ends of the floor. Advertisement "I relish those moments, love the moments, good or bad. When I was a kid shooting at my driveway, I'd count down the clock for those moments. Now I get to live it." Part of what keeps the Thunder calm and focused in those moments is Gilgous-Alexander's steady, focused, stoic demeanor. "You really wouldn't know whether he's up three, down three, up 30, down 30, eating dinner on a Wednesday," Daigneault said. "He's pretty much the same guy." "You wouldn't know if it was a preseason game or it's Game 4 of the NBA Finals down 2-1 with him," said OKC's Alex Caruso, who had 20 points and five steals of his own in the win. "That's why we have such a good mentality as a group. That's why we are able to find success in adversity. No matter what's going on, you look at him and he's the same. Underneath that stoic personality or (his) look on the court is a deep, deep-rooted competitiveness. That is sprinkled throughout the whole team." Holmgren's defense In those final minutes, the Pacers hunted another Thunder star, Chet Holmgren, getting him switched onto Tyrese Haliburton. That was the matchup Indiana wanted: Holmgren on an island against the Pacers' All-NBA guy. Advertisement It didn't work. "I had just given up two drives right before that. Just kind of trying to learn from those and play them better in those instances," Holmgren said of his play late. "I feel like I got a good contest. He was still able to get it off. He shoots a high-arcing shot. The whole time it's in the air, a lot's going through your mind. I'm just glad we were able to get those stops and close out the game." "We don't [switch] a ton with him because he's just so impactful at the rim, but he can really switch," Daigneault said. "It's funny, when he was coming out of the draft, that was one of the things that they really recognized with him, is that he's very switchable. He's got great feet. We just found ourselves behind the ball in a lot of plays tonight. The switching was able to get that under control late. We can't do that unless he can do that. He was outstanding tonight." Advertisement It feels like the Thunder snatched momentum in these NBA Finals with the win, tying the series 2-2 as they head home for Game 5. Still, this was a game where the Pacers were the better team for 42 minutes, as their defense effectively bottled up SGA and the Thunder for much of the night. It's a game they could have won if not for their own shooting troubles in the final minutes — they scored one bucket in the final five minutes — in the face of more defensive pressure. If the Thunder are going to win a critical Game 5 at home, they are going to need a lot more Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren.
Al Jazeera
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Al Jazeera
Thunder dominates Game 2 to even NBA final series with Pacers
The Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander learned a lesson to open the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals. 'You can't just throw the first punch,' Gilgeous-Alexander said after Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the visiting Indiana Pacers on Sunday night. 'You've got to throw all the punches all night.' Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the Thunder threw plenty of haymakers, helping their side to a 123-107 victory to even the series 1-1 going into Wednesday's Game 3 in Indianapolis. That was a departure from Game 1 last Thursday, when the Thunder led by 15 in the fourth quarter before Indiana came back to win the game 111-110 on a basket in the final second. Gilgeous-Alexander led the way on Sunday for Oklahoma City, scoring 34 with eight assists, five rebounds and four steals, and went 11-of-12 on free throws. There were plenty of areas of improvement from Game 1 for Thunder coach Mark Daigneault to point out after the victory. Oklahoma City had more success turning Indiana's turnovers into points at the other end, got better production from Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, had nearly double the assists after posting a season-low 13 in Game 1, and got an offensive spark off the bench from Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins. Daigneault said none of those alone was the difference-maker, but all came together for a much better result for his team. 'I think we were just a little bit better in a lot of areas,' Daigneault said. The biggest stretch of the game came in the second quarter, when the Thunder ripped off a 19-2 run fuelled by their defence and Gilgeous-Alexander's finishes on the other end. To that point, Oklahoma City's defence had not forced many turnovers, and it had not taken advantage of the few it had caused. But during that big run, Gilgeous-Alexander scored seven of Oklahoma City's last nine points – all off Pacers' turnovers. Indiana quickly answered with a 10-0 run to make it 52-39, but never got closer than that 13-point deficit. The Thunder outscored the Pacers 26-12 in the paint in the first half and, for the series, now lead 88-68 in that category. 'They're the best team in the league at keeping the ball out of there,' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. 'It's a tough task.' In Game 1, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren combined to shoot just 8-of-28 from the floor, with Holmgren going just 2-for-9 with six points. Holmgren looked much more settled early on in Game 2, hitting five consecutive shots after missing his first of the game. While Williams was not overly efficient, scoring 19 points on 5-of-14 shooting, he did go 8-for-9 at the free throw line and added five assists. Holmgren finished with 15 points, while Caruso added 20 and Wiggins 18 off the bench. Tyrese Haliburton, the star of Game 1 after hitting the winning shot in the final second, led the Pacers with 17 points, though 12 of those came in the final quarter with the game fairly well in hand for Oklahoma City. Over the first two games of the series, Haliburton is a combined 3-for-9 with nine points before half-time. 'I have to figure out how to be better at the beginning of games,' Haliburton said. 'Kudos to them; they are a great defensive team.' A big part of the Thunder's defensive success against Haliburton has been thanks to Luguentz Dort. He has spent plenty of time guarding Haliburton but was on the opposite side of the floor for Haliburton's Game 1 winner. Dort finished with just three points, though Caruso gave him plenty of credit for the victory. 'He knows the role he needs to play for us to win the series and pick up that trophy at the end,' Caruso said. Myles Turner added 16 for Indiana, while Pascal Siakam scored 15 points on 3-of-11 shooting.
Reuters
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Thunder pack counterpunch in Game 2, even series with Pacers
June 9 - OKLAHOMA CITY -- Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander learned a lesson to open the NBA Finals. "You can't just throw the first punch," Gilgeous-Alexander said after Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the visiting Indiana Pacers on Sunday night. "You've got to throw all the punches all night." Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the Thunder threw plenty of haymakers, helping Oklahoma City to a 123-107 victory to even the best-of-seven series 1-1 going into Wednesday's Game 3 in Indianapolis. That was a departure from Game 1 last Thursday, when the Thunder led by 15 in the fourth quarter before Indiana came back to win the game 111-110 on a basket in the final second. Gilgeous-Alexander led the way on Sunday for Oklahoma City, scoring 34 with eight assists, five rebounds and four steals and went 11 of 12 on free throws. There were plenty of areas of improvement from Game 1 for Thunder coach Mark Daigneault to point out after the victory. Oklahoma City had more success turning Indiana's turnovers into points at the other end, got better production from Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, had nearly double the assists after posting a season-low 13 in Game 1, and got an offensive spark off the bench from Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins. Daigneault said none of those alone were the difference maker, but all came together for a much better result for his team. "I think we were just a little bit better in a lot of areas," Daigneault said. The biggest stretch of the game came in the second quarter, when the Thunder ripped off a 19-2 run that was fueled by both their defense and Gilgeous-Alexander's finishes on the other end. To that point, Oklahoma City's defense hadn't forced many turnovers and it hadn't taken advantage of the few it had caused. But during that big run, Gilgeous-Alexander scored seven of Oklahoma City's last nine points -- all off Pacers' turnovers. Indiana quickly answered with a 10-0 run to make it 52-39, but never got closer than that 13-point deficit. The Thunder outscored the Pacers 26-12 in the paint in the first half and, for the series, now lead 88-68 in that category. "They're the best team in the league at keeping the ball out of there," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "... It's a tough task." In Game 1, Jalen WIlliams and Chet Holmgren combined to shoot just 8 of 28 from the floor, with Holmgren going just 2-for-9 with six points. Holmgren looked much more settled early on in Game 2, hitting five consecutive shots after missing his first of the game. While Williams wasn't overly efficient, scoring 19 points on 5-of-14 shooting, he did go 8-for-9 at the free-throw line and added five assists. Holmgren finished with 15 points while Caruso added 20 and Wiggins 18 off the bench. Tyrese Haliburton, the star of Game 1 after hitting the game-winning shot in the final second, led the Pacers with 17 points, though 12 of those came in the final quarter with the game fairly well in hand for Oklahoma City. Over the first two games of the series, Haliburton is a combined 3-for-9 with nine points before halftime. "I have to figure out how to be better at the beginning of games," Haliburton said. "Kudos to them; they are a great defensive team." A big part of the Thunder's defensive success against Haliburton has been thanks to Luguentz Dort. He has spent plenty of time guarding Haliburton but was on the opposite side of the floor for Haliburton's Game 1 winner. Dort finished with just three points, though Caruso gave Dort plenty of credit for the victory. "He knows the role he needs to play for us to win the series and pick up that trophy at the end," Caruso said. Myles Turner added 16 for Indiana, while Pascal Siakam scored 15 points on 3-of-11 shooting. --Field Level Media
