Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s streak of 20-plus point games ended at 141 on Oct. 22, 2026, when he finished with 17 points in the Thunder’s 12-point win over the Denver Nuggets. Christian Braun was on him late, and the Thunder’s season-opening start moved to 2-0 even as the scoring run that had stretched almost two years finally stopped.
That is why the box score drew attention after a game the Thunder controlled most of the way. Gilgeous-Alexander had no field goals in the first half and reached only two points on seven shots, his lowest first-half total since his first season in OKC in 2019. The streak had started on Nov. 1, 2024, in Portland against the Trail Blazers, then kept going long enough for him to break Wilt Chamberlain’s record.
By the time the final stretch arrived, the question was no longer whether the Thunder would win. It was whether Gilgeous-Alexander would get back to 20. He was re-inserted with just under seven minutes left while the Thunder were comfortably ahead, then sat stuck on seven points until he made a 25-footer with 1:43 left to reach 17. After that shot, he checked out and stayed on the bench.
That late sequence is what made the end of the streak feel deliberate, not accidental. Christian Braun had the job of defending him on those possessions, and the matchup helped keep Gilgeous-Alexander from getting the one basket he needed. Mark Daigneault later said he asked out at the end and called it a substitution that showed tremendous class as a competitor, while Gilgeous-Alexander has said, “I think you always treat the game with respect.”
The final number will stand on its own: 141 straight games with at least 20 points, then one night at 17. The Thunder got the win and kept moving, but the streak’s end turned a routine victory into a statistical marker that will sit beside some of the NBA’s longest runs.
