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As Shai Gilgeous-Alexander slammed his brakes going right, Malik Beasley slid across the floor. The crossover move created a left lane for the MVP candidate as he muscled through Jalen Duren's contest to bank in the layup mid-air.
That was one of several highlight plays by Gilgeous-Alexander. The NBA's leading scorer carried the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder to a 113-107 win over the Detroit Pistons amid chaos.
It was a back-and-forth affair from the jump. The Thunder had a strong start with an early 23-12 lead, but the Pistons fought back when Gilgeous-Alexander was off the floor. OKC's lead was cut to 24-23 after the first quarter. An extended 24-3 Detroit run helped put it back in the game.
After both teams scored 31 points in the second quarter, the Thunder entered halftime with a slight 55-54 lead. A little surprising, considering how badly their offense melted down with the bench lineups.
After the second half was delayed because a basket was misaligned, the Thunder had a blazing start. Gilgeous-Alexander hit a stepback 3-pointer and Kenrich Williams scored on an easy transition dunk. A few possessions later, the MVP candidate found Isaiah Hartenstein on an alley-oop to push OKC's lead to 66-56 with a little under nine minutes left in the frame.
The Thunder kept their lead around double-digit points for the rest of the third quarter. After a little bit of a chaotic finish where JB Bickerstaff, Cade Cunningham and Dennis Schroder were hit with technical fouls, OKC exited the frame with a commanding 91-77 lead.
Already hot and furious with the officials, the Pistons were forced to play the fourth quarter without Cunningham after he was ejected. The Pistons crowd rained down boos on the referees as Bickerstaff egged them on. In a hostile road environment, the Thunder were caught up in the crossfire as Detroit mounted a comeback.
After Gilgeous-Alexander scored on a pull-up jumper to make it a 95-81 lead, the Pistons scored eight straight points to make it a six-point contest with eight minutes left. The Thunder's offense dried up against one of the league's best defenses. It didn't take Beasley long to make a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer to cut OKC's lead to 98-97 with four minutes to go.
With a mere one-point lead, the Thunder were back in crunch time. It's an environment they haven't visited much this season. Short-handed against a solid playoff team, these would be valuable reps for OKC's bench players. Gilgeous-Alexander took over as he answered Beasley's outside bucket with a stepback 3-pointer.
Holding onto a 102-100 lead with three minutes left, Gilgeous-Alexander scored back-to-back buckets to seal the result. He had Tim Hardaway Jr. slide and then touch the hardwood when he scored on a mid-range jumper. He then made an acrobatic layup around Duren.
On the next possession, Gilgeous-Alexander found Cason Wallace for the 3-pointer. Dagger. Just like that, the Thunder were up 109-102 with a minute-and-a-half left. Fighting against an angry crowd and an even angrier opposing coach, a depleted OKC squad went about its business and collected a win.
The Thunder shot 48% from the field and went 10-of-34 (29.4%) from 3. They shot 17-of-22 on free throws. They had 17 assists on 43 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with an efficient 48 points. Wallace helped out with an efficient 20 points. Hartenstein logged a 12-point double-double. Williams had 10 points with the rare start. Isaiah Joe scored 11 points off the bench.
Meanwhile, the Pistons shot 48% from the field and went 14-of-33 (42.4%) from 3. They shot 9-of-13 on free throws. They had 29 assists on 42 baskets. Five Pistons players scored double-digit points.
Cunningham was limited to 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting, nine assists and seven rebounds. Tobias Harris had 18 points and seven rebounds. Hardaway Jr. was held to 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting. Off the bench, Schroder had 17 points and 11 assists, while Beasley scored 15 points.
The Thunder continue to find ways to win. No matter what iteration they have, they continue to stack victories. Gilgeous-Alexander going supernova was enough to put them past the Pistons. Even with Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins out. Add this to the Thunder's franchise player's MVP resume.
Let's look at Thunder player grades:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
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Pausing at the Pistons' midcourt logo, Gilgeous-Alexander crouched down and took a minute. He desperately needed the breather after a timeout was called. After all, he put on his Superman cape in this close win as he played the final 15 minutes of a tight contest.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 48 points on 17-of-26 shooting, six assists and four rebounds. He shot 4-of-6 from 3 and went 10-of-10 on free throws. He also had three steals and a block.
Like the rest of the NBA, the Pistons had no answers against Gilgeous-Alexander. They tried Ausar Thompson, but he couldn't do much. They tried blitzing, and that failed. The 26-year-old got to his spots without breaking a sweat and was a level four-level scorer inside the paint, in the mid-range, on outside looks and at the charity stripe.
It was a four-quarter takeover. Gilgeous-Alexander had 20 points at halftime. He nearly matched that in the third frame alone with 17 points. After he checked in with three minutes left, he didn't check out the rest of the way. That's how deplorable the Thunder got with their bench lineups without the three top options who usually man them.
Putting the Thunder on his back, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 11 points in the fourth quarter. He closed it out with nearly 50 points. He was the ultimate equalizer as he didn't mind swishing in highly-difficult jumpers in front of Detroit defenders' faces.
The Pistons didn't have an answer without Cunningham. The final five minutes turned from a tight contest into Gilgeous-Alexander's mini-highlight reel with unreal finishes. By the end of the night, Detroit became an unexpected donor to his MVP case by letting him go off.
With less than a month left in the regular season, we're in the twilight stage of one of the greatest individual scoring seasons the NBA has ever seen. Against the Pistons in what should've been a scheduled loss, Gilgeous-Alexander single-handedly altered the result. That's some MVP stuff.
's got an arm on him 
Cason Wallace: A-plus
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Driving past Cunningham, Wallace kissed the ball off the glass. Duren couldn't reach the shot at its apex as the 21-year-old's first bucket was a difficult banked layup. Without Williams, Holmgren and Wiggins, the Thunder needed Wallace to step up.
Wallace finished with 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting, five rebounds and three steals. He shot 2-of-4 from 3. It marked a season high in points as the Thunder needed every last basket.
The additional ball-handling reps let Wallace drive to the basket. He had plenty of pretty finishes around the rim. At times, he was the sole drop of water in their desertous second-unit lineups. He had nine quick points in the first quarter.
Wallace only had three points in the fourth quarter, but his timely triple was the dagger that put the Thunder up by seven points with 93 seconds left. They needed the 21-year-old to step up as their second go-to scorer with the number of players out and he did.
Isaiah Hartenstein: B-plus
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Matched up against Duran and Isaiah Stewart, Hartenstein held his own against the Pistons' physical center duo. In fact, you could say he gave the Thunder the advantage at that spot.
Hartenstein finished with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 10 rebounds and five assists. He shot 2-of-4 on free throws. He also had three blocks and two steals.
Like all season, Hartenstein was a constant lob threat for the Thunder. He also ran the second unit with his DHO looks. The seven-footer stuffed the stat sheet and had a celebratory block on Thompson's layup attempt in the final seconds.
This is what the Thunder needed from Hartenstein. Since Holmgren returned, his role has fluctuated from starter to bench player. He deserves a lot of credit for rolling with the punches and logging in productive outings despite the inconsistencies.
Lu Dort: C
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Defending Cunningham, Dort was a victim of friendly fire. Backpedaling, his foot slipped on Gilgeous-Alexander's shot. The slippage caused him to do the splits, as he was on the ground for the rest of the possession. It took him a minute, but he got up and walked to the locker room.
Dort missed most of the second half with hip soreness. He finished with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting, seven rebounds, one assist and a block. He shot 1-of-4 from 3 in 27 minutes.
Dort's injury hung over the Thunder for the rest of the game. He's an important starter to their success. After it looked like he might've hurt his groin, you'll take hip soreness over that. It's the latest of several hip injuries OKC has dealt with this season.
Already down Williams and Holmgren, the Thunder had to close this win without three starters thanks to Dort's injury. Such is life for the Thunder this season. They've juggled with injuries all season long. Hopefully, Dort's absence is on the shorter side of things.
Highlights:
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: SGA 48 points lead Thunder to 113-107 win over Pistons
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