After letting go of the step-back 3-pointer, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander kept his right arm fully extended until the ball dropped through the basket.
With 1.1 seconds left against the Washington Wizards on Nov. 16, Gilgeous-Alexander’s shot gave the Thunder a 121-120 win.
The teams face each other Friday for the first time since Gilgeous-Alexander’s game-winner, when they meet in Oklahoma City.
Gilgeous-Alexander equaled his then-career high with 42 points in that game. Since, he has topped it with 44 points Dec. 23 against New Orleans.
Gilgeous-Alexander is coming off a 33-point performance in Wednesday’s loss at Orlando. He shot just 8 of 19 from the floor but was 17 of 18 at the free-throw line a night after missing a win over Boston with a non-COVID illness.
The Thunder trailed by 17 early in that win over the Wizards.
Since the start of last season, Oklahoma City has won 12 games in which it trailed by at least 15 points — the most in the league during that span.
The Thunder have won four such games this season and nine games in which the team was behind by at least 10 points.
The Thunder have lost three of their last four.
The Wizards will be without Beal, who left Tuesday’s loss to Milwaukee in the second quarter after aggravating a left hamstring injury. The team said Thursday that Beal will miss at least three more games.
Beal has missed 15 games this season with a variety of ailments. He also missed six with a right hamstring injury.
Washington has won five of six since Kristaps Porzingis returned from missing two games.
The pairing of Porzingis and Daniel Gafford, who came off the bench before Porzingis’ absence but has remained in the starting lineup alongside Porzingis, has helped the Wizards’ defense.
Washington’s defensive rating was in the bottom 10 in the league at 113.8 before the change. Since, the Wizards’ defensive rating is 106.3, tops in the league.
