Kenny Atkinson Details Cavaliers’ Failed Attempts to Slow Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 43 points Monday night, a season high, as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-112 at Rocket Arena.

The two-time MVP went 14-of-35 from the field, 4-of-8 from 3-point range, and 11-of-12 at the free-throw line. He added 3 rebounds and 8 assists in 38 minutes.

He had 17 points at halftime and 26 after it. In the fourth quarter, he scored 13 on 5-of-13 shooting. His made shots in that period included a 13-foot pull-up at 6:47 and 14-foot turnarounds at 5:06 and 3:09.

Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said Tuesday's film will help down the line, because playoff basketball requires a team to blitz and to get its rotations right.

"We did that. Unfortunately, he torched that, too," Atkinson said. "We have our basic coverage, and we'll go in basic for a little, and then he hits two pull-ups. You're like, man, if we stay in basic, we're in that drop, he's just going to kill us from mid-range. And I'm like, well, third possession, we decide to blitz, and then we switched there for a while."

"I don't think [you] can give [him] a steady diet of anything, but you could definitely go that route," Atkinson continued. "There's the other route where it's like, man, just stick with your basic, stick with your regular coverage, and just do it over and over and do it better. I could definitely argue that."

Oklahoma City played without six injured players, including Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. Ajay Mitchell scored 20 points, 12 of them in the second quarter, when the Thunder outscored Cleveland 33-18.

Gilgeous-Alexander's step-back 3-pointer with 32.6 seconds left broke a 112-112 tie. Earlier in the fourth quarter, he made both technical free throws Cleveland gave up, one on rookie Meleek Thomas with 8:04 left and one on Atkinson at 3:21. Marc Davis called both.

Oklahoma City shot 42.9% from the field and made 21 of 23 free throws. Cleveland shot 44.4% and made 18 3-pointers to the Thunder's 12.

Oklahoma City's crashing works because second chances demoralize a defense, Atkinson said, and that is why every team is doing it.

"We've got to figure it out," Atkinson explained. "I think we're 20th in the league, right? Probably worse in the possession game. It's early. … And I don't know where we ended up overall, but you got to get more shots than the other team. That's a big part of the NBA now, so rebounding is a big part of it."

"Good team like that, you give second chance after second chance, and it kind of demoralizes your defense, right?" Atkinson continued. "That's why everybody's doing it. Everybody's crashing because it does demoralize your defense. We got to do a better job, better job boxing out."

The Thunder finished with 15 offensive rebounds and a 54-46 edge on the glass. Isaiah Hartenstein had 14 rebounds, 7 of them offensive, and Aday Mara added 9 rebounds off the bench.

Six of the Thunder's offensive rebounds came in the fourth quarter, when they scored 7 second-chance points and Cleveland scored none.

For the game, the Cavaliers scored 24 second-chance points to the Thunder's 22.

Peyton Watson was inactive with right hamstring tightness and soreness. Watson had 5 points, 6 assists, and 2 blocks in Saturday's 136-111 win in Milwaukee.

Jaylon Tyson also sat out a second straight game with a right ankle sprain. Nae'Qwan Tomlin is out with a low back stress reaction, and Khalifa Diop was also inactive.

Atkinson said a game against Indiana two years ago, with two rotation players out, was the kind of situation an early stretch like this prepares Cleveland for.

"He obviously wasn't able to go," Atkinson said. "And listen, I think these things are this early in the season, we're just being cautious and smart. I think that's the way to play it. That's how I always say, I'm like the conservative doctor."

"Got Mario, got more minutes, which is great," Atkinson continued. "In a situation like that, you develop your bench. I'd rather him get fully healthy rather than throwing him out there game six, game seven."

Mario Hezonja played 26 minutes off the bench and scored 12 points. Tyrese Proctor played 18 minutes and scored 10.

Cleveland is 4-3. The rematch at Paycom Center tips off at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.