Player grades: SGA's 47 points carry Thunder to 114-110 OT win over Pistons

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OKLAHOMA CITY — Down seven points with four minutes to go, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knew the gravity of the situation. He scanned his closet to find his Superman cape. If he wanted to avoid a doomsday scenario of an upset at this juncture, he had to do it all by himself.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were carried to the finish line in a one-man show. They survived the short-handed Detroit Pistons in a 114-110 overtime win. Gilgeous-Alexander ensured they'd avoid disaster, considering how air-tight the standings are.

Considering both roster situations, felt like the Pistons were gift-wrapping the game to the Thunder. They were without Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and mostly the rest of their top pieces. They returned the favor from when OKC entered similarly down several guys in their earlier matchup this season.

Early on, it felt like the Thunder would out-talent the Pistons. They had a 31-24 lead after the first quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander got things going. But so did Cason Wallace and Ajay Mitchell. The second quarter served as a change of pace for both teams. Their offenses went back a few decades.

The Thunder only had 22 points in the second frame. They entered halftime with a 53-43 lead. Chet Holmgren had 13 points to help fellow All-Star Gilgeous-Alexander. Not the wildest advantage, but pretty good considering the Pistons showed they could punch above their weight.

With the Thunder's offense falling apart, the Pistons slowly got back into this. They had an 11-4 start to the second half. Wallace turned it over as Kevin Huerter went backdoor for the reverse layup. Just like that, it was a 57-54 game with over nine minutes left in the third frame. Brand-new ball game.

Eventually, the Thunder discovered the right combination to put up some points. Aaron Wiggins played a role in that with a couple of outside jumpers and a steal-and-score sequence. They put up 26 points in the third quarter. A 79-74 lead at that point provided some comfort.

After the Thunder flirted with opening up a double-digit lead, the Pistons refused to lie in the graveyard. They had a game-altering 19-5 run that spanned nearly six minutes. Caris LeVert knocked down a corner 3-pointer to make it an 85-83 game with over nine minutes to go.

Eventually, Huerter made an outside jumper to put the Thunder in an 87-85 deficit. It was the first time they've trailed all night. Unreal. At that point, the possibility of a ginormous upset crossed everybody's minds for the first time. Considering the San Antonio Spurs were fresh off a blowout win over the Chicago Bulls, your margin for error is paper-thin to begin with.

That thought eventually grew into a nightmare. Nobody but Gilgeous-Alexander could get anything going. Meanwhile, the Pistons dominated on the boards to compensate for their absence of NBA scorers. After grabbing a pair of offensive rebounds, Daniss Jenkins finally knocked down an outside jumper to put OKC in a 97-90 hole with four minutes left.

Uh oh. The Thunder called a timeout. From that point on, they needed nearly everything to go perfectly. On both sides of the floor. All Gilgeous-Alexander could do was pull a Cam Newton and nod his head while mouthing 'Bet.' The reigning MVP dragged them to a tied game.

First, Gilgeous-Alexander attacked the basket and drew a critical foul. He swished in both free throw attempts as part of a larger sum. He then drove to the paint before he settled for a short-range jumper. Swish. Then he bumped Javonte Green off of him for the elbow jumper.

A personal 6-0 run by Gilgeous-Alexander. Couldn't have dreamed up a better sequence. The Thunder had it back to a 97-96 deficit with a little under three minutes left. Talk about making up ground in a hurry. Eventually, Gilgeous-Alexander trusted Jaylin Williams to make a big-time 3-pointer to knot it up at 99 points apiece with 95 seconds left.

The Pistons suddenly realized they couldn't get a bucket. Nobody from their side of things could produce a difficult jumper. The Thunder absolutely stumped them on that end once they went on high alert. Gilgeous-Alexander forced Jenkins to foul him.

After two made free throws, Paul Reed returned the favor. Holmgren committed his sixth foul in the final seconds of regulation. The Detroit center made both attempts. Tied at 101 points with 31 seconds left, Gilgeous-Alexander had a chance to add to his game-winning highlight video.

Hovering in the passing lane, Gilgeous-Alexander intercepted Jenkins' pass attempt. With only 13 seconds left, he was ready to call the game. In a one-on-one look with Green, he created space for the stepback 3-pointer that swished in. The OKC crowd erupted. It felt like he hit the game-winner.

And then a small, irritating sound could barely be heard amid the chaos — Phenizee Ransom's whistle. The NBA referee made the daring call of an offensive foul. Gilgeous-Alexander extended his elbow out to create space against Green. A move that happens practically hundreds of times in your standard regular-season game.

The controversial call stood pat. We'll see what the L2M Report says, but the gutsy decision snagged away another signature moment to add to Gilgeous-Alexander's MVP resume. Instead, overtime we went. The Thunder scored 22 points in the final frame to get to that point.

Tied at 101 points, Gilgeous-Alexander completely controlled the extra five-minute session. His trust in Alex Caruso finally paid off. The 32-year-old knocked down an outside jumper. That put OKC ahead 108-104 with 79 seconds left.

Hoping to put it away, Gilgeous-Alexander baited Huerter into committing a sinful 3-point shooting foul — the absolute last thing you can afford in that situation. He knocked down all three attempts. That put the Thunder ahead 111-106 with 48 seconds left.

From that point on, it became a game within a game. The Thunder needed to hit on their intentional free throws. The Pistons needed to save every second. It became pretty mundane as Gilgeous-Alexander finished just shy of the half-century mark. He slammed the door shut of one of his best Superman acts ever. They had 13 points in overtime.

The Thunder shot 47% from the field and went 10-of-34 (29.4%) from 3. They shot 28-of-32 on free throws. They had 17 assists on 38 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with a monstrous 47 points and five rebounds. Holmgren had 13 points and nine rebounds. Mitchell had 14 points and three assists. Wiggins scored 10 points off the bench.

Meanwhile, the Pistons shot 42% from the field and went 16-of-43 (37.2%) from 3. They shot 12-of-23 on free throws. They had 30 assists on 41 baskets. Six Pistons players scored double-digit points.

Reed tallied a 21-point and 10-rebound double-double. Green had 19 points and five rebounds. Huerter tallied 17 points and six rebounds. Jenkins had 15 points and six assists. Marcus Sasser had 12 points and four assists. LeVert had 10 points and four rebounds.

It shouldn't have come to this point, but Gilgeous-Alexander showed he can be a one-man team when needed. Things looked dire in the final four minutes of regulation, not going to lie. It felt like the Thunder were about to drop a gimme with massive ramifications that go beyond seeding.

Instead, the reigning MVP utilized the situation to add to his case to go back-to-back for the prestigious award. Just an unreal carry job against a Pistons squad that showed why they've been the East's first seed for most of the season. They put quite the scare on the Thunder, but at this point, a win is a win.

Let's look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus

Robbed of a game-winner, Gilgeous-Alexander refused to let the weight of an offensive foul irate him. Most NBA superstars would've given the entire referee crew an earful. Instead, his unrattling composure had him ready to go to overtime and put this game away.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 47 points on 12-of-19 shooting, five rebounds and three assists. He shot 2-of-3 from 3 and went 21-of-25 on free throws. He also had two steals.

Any concerns about Gilgeous-Alexander's recent pedestrain shooting splits were quickly brushed away. He had one of his best scoring games ever. A basketball masterpiece. Even for the 30-point scoring machine's stuffed catalog standards. There's just something about seeing Detroit on the other side that unlocks the peak of his powers.

All four scoring levels worked in hand for Gilgeous-Alexander. He relentlessly drove to the paint despite a pack of Pistons players. It resulted in him laying the ball up through traffic. The mid-range jumper was also money. He camped at his favorite spots at the baseline and elbow.

Even the outside jumper returned to him after a sabbatical. And then, of course — there were the free throws. That's the number that pops off the most when examining the box score. He took more attempts than the entire Detroit squad. That will surely cause some disruption in the social media world. Too bad.

With just 16 points at halftime, Gilgeous-Alexander upgraded an average good game for him into an all-timer. He had 31 points in the second half. With 21 in the fourth quarter and overtime alone. Reading the room, he understood how dire things looked. Nobody else on the Thunder was going to join him.

Even when his game-winner was erased, Gilgeous-Alexander had eight points in overtime. Most of those came from the free-throw line, too. As Detroit tried desperately to extend the game to no avail. The Thunder needed every single one of his 47 to barely squeeze by.

The Pistons had no answer for Gilgeous-Alexander. Ausar Thompson eventually fouled out by trying to figure out ways to stop him. No luck. When he got into a score-first mode, most of his shot attempts barely grazed the net. Just special stuff to see when one of the greatest scorers ever goes supernova like that.

Chet Holmgren: B

Hovering on the weak side, Holmgren rotated over to Reed. With 37 seconds left in regulation, the Thunder desperately needed a stop. Instead, the All-Star made the critical mistake of fouling the Detroit center to let him tie things up at the free-throw line. It also ended his night — right before overtime started.

Holmgren finished with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting, nine rebounds and one assist. He shot 1-of-3 from 3. He also had two blocks and two steals.

In a game where the Thunder badly needed someone else to step up as a scorer, Holmgren scored all of his points in the first half. He found his way around the rim for several assisted buckets. He then showed off his jumper with a couple of mid-range looks and a corner attempt.

The second half, though, was a different story. While the rim protection was solid against Detroit's B squad, Holmgren was scoreless. Pretty bad timing, considering how much of the Thunder's offense was stuck in the mud. Eventually, his sixth foul was an expensive one, too.

You like Holmgren making the late rotation in a critical possession. Just so happens he committed a mistake relying on the same playstyle that has morphed him into one of the league's best rim protectors. The Thunder were able to survive overtime without him, but they needed more on a night like this. Such comes with the territory of the seven-footer.

Ajay Mitchell: B

Punching the ball away before it landed in Huerter's possession, Mitchell showed off his two-way abilities. He generated a steal-and-score sequence at the start of the second half. With Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein out, he absorbed the vacant possessions.

Mitchell finished with 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting, three assists and two rebounds. He shot 0-of-1 from 3 and went 6-of-6 on free throws. He also had two steals and one block.

Considering how low-scoring this game was, it shouldn't be a shocker to see the Thunder have just a trio of double-digit scorers. He relentlessly drove to the basket. It helped him get to the free-throw line pretty frequently. The 23-year-old has remained with his aggressive drive-first scoring style — despite missing time because of it.

Mitchell is part of OKC's endless depth. When a couple of starters are out, he has no problem adding more to his plate. In fact, he probably loves it on a selfish level. Despite juggling injuries all season, about every Thunder player has had a handful of standout moments. He's obviously one with a breakout year.

Mitchell had 10 points in the first half. While he was quieter in the second half, the Thunder stuck with him. You desperately needed someone else to man the offense. Even if it looked clunky at times. Couldn't solely depend on Gilgeous-Alexander every possession in a high-intensity game.

Alex Caruso: B

Sitting in the corner, Caruso patiently awaited the ball. Everybody knew Detroit would collapse in the paint as soon as Gilgeous-Alexander set foot. At that point, it was about the OKC role player to make them pay for the daring strategy. Given a second chance, he did so with his sole bucket.

Caruso finished with three points on 1-of-2 shooting from 3, four assists and one rebound. He also had one steal.

A nothingburger box score fades into the background. Like most nights, you should know by now that Caruso's impact goes beyond that. A plus-12 in 27 minutes is a better indication of things. The fact that the Thunder had him out there for the entirety of overtime is another.

With how ugly the offense got, the Thunder knew it needed to lean extra hard on their league-best defense. In comes Caruso — who seldom logs this many minutes in a regular-season matchup. He navigated the rest of his teammates to their spots. He also sized up to make up for their smaller frontcourt.

And of course, Caruso had two high-leverage shot attempts. The first failed. Under 30 seconds left in regulation, he had a chance to hit the go-ahead outside jumper. Instead, the ball clanked off the rim. Dang. That's been a bad trend this season. Feels like he hasn't hit a big-time shot in those situations all year.

But Gilgeous-Alexander didn't care. He trusted the two-time NBA champion to make it next time. On the cusp of redemption, he did so with a corner look in overtime. That added to OKC's lead. It's about time he enjoyed some shooting luck. You're going to need more of that in the NBA playoffs — when you can guarantee teams will dare him to beat them from the outside.

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This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: SGA's 47 points carry Thunder to 114-110 OT win over Pistons

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