Shai Gilgeous-Alexander enjoys ‘ugly’ win over Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got the better of Kevin Durant and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder got the new season off with a win.

Gilgeous-Alexander was far from his best and described the win as “ugly” after the Thunder edged out the Houston Rockets 125-124 in second overtime.

The reigning MVP scored 35 points, including both game-winning free throws with 2.3 seconds left after being fouled by former Thunder superstar Kevin Durant, who was making his Rockets debut.

All about the win for SGA

Gilgeous-Alexander was a little rusty but admitted getting the win was all that mattered.

“I need to be better,” he said. “We need to be better than what we just did. We’re going to be a better team in a few months, but I fully believe this team will use tonight as a learning experience. 

“It was ugly tonight, but I’d rather it be ugly in a win than a loss for sure.”

Gilgeous-Alexander struggled in the first half for any kind of fluency but coach Mark Daigneault was delighted with his determination to get the job done, no matter how it looked.

“He just stays in the game,” Daigneault said. “It wasn’t a perfect night for him, but he just stays in it. He understands the 48-minute nature. He understands the 82-game nature. It’s not always going to be perfect. And tonight wasn’t perfect for us collectively. And the guys just kind of played the next play, never lost our focus or resolve.”

It was a landmark night for the Thunder who raised the Championship banner before the game for the first time in Oklahoma City.

“It felt like it was going up for 10 minutes,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It was an amazing moment. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.”