Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Joins GameTime After Game 4 Win vs. Pacers | 2025 NBA Finals

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Joins GameTime After Game 4 Win vs. Pacers | 2025 NBA Finals

the affforementioned tough cover This man Shay Gildas Alexander the reigning most valuable player in the NBA joining us here after that incredible fourth quarter where Sheay goes for 15 points eight of eight from the free throw line Let’s start here Uh congratulations on the win Tie up the series at two but the beginning of the game noticeable changes Starting lineup changed and your rotation minutes changed H how much of a conversation was those two things going into tonight and how important was it to to winning yeah Um we trust coach with all those things Um he’s done such a good job of keeping us flexible all year with the lineup changes the minute changes Um so in moments like these when we need to adjust or he feels like we need to adjust um it’s pretty seamless for us And tonight was just an example of that You know obviously defensively down the stretch you guys really rattled them I mean their offense they’ve been so good uh in in the game situations uh the defense collectively being able to shut them down clamp down Uh what what was the mindset what were you guys doing was it just sort of sticking to your principles that you’ve done throughout the season is it you know four games in now you know them a little bit better just the thought process collectively defensively down the stretch Talk a little bit about that Yeah it’s all about like focus and intensity for us Um just like sticking to our principle I think you hit it on the nose when we are locked in when we’re playing together defensively when we’re physical when we’re under the ball really just to our identity is when we see the best version of ourselves Um tonight we didn’t have it as much as we liked Um and and that’s why the game was in their control for the most of it Uh but if we want to win this series we got to control that end of the floor for sure and do a better job uh throughout the whole game SGA you all were down 2-1 going to Denver um with a must-win basically game four same situation here How much did you reflect on that situation and what was the conversation like in the locker room because you guys always seem like no matter what y’all stay calm cool and collected Yeah we know we’ve been here before Um now the stakes are a little bit different and the opponent’s different so you don’t ever like want to compare it too much Uh but every time you lose especially the way we lost last game there’s um things that you let slip Um and and our focus was to just try to be a better basketball team for the next game and take care of those things that slipped and weren’t to our identity And we didn’t have it like I said for a full 48 tonight but we we got it in time and were able to pull this one up You know coach went back to the big big and y’all were able to dominate on the offensive glass cuz I thought Chad I thought the two most obviously you closed which is that’s that’s your job as the man but I thought the two big things Chad on the offensive board but also I thought Caruso’s energy level like it’s contagious I thought that was huge What do you think about that absolutely He’s he’s been that the whole our whole playoff run Uh he makes timely stops timely steals timely deflections timely plays big shots like he’s just a gamer He’s the only one on our team with the championship ring and it’s no coincidence Like he knows how to win big games and big moments He he arrives Um I told him after the game like he started our run for sure Um he deserves all the praise for that He he’s a big time performer and we’re seeing it um in front of our eyes You know SGA sometimes as a great scorer you have an easy 35 points You know tonight it it felt like a hard sort of physical 35 and particularly down the stretch closing out there You sat there in the fourth quarter maybe 7 minutes 6 minutes left in the game Just in those moments take the people at home like when when you got to come out you got to be big for your team What is your thought process how are you approaching things uh particularly in a big game in a big moment like this yeah catch my breath Um come in be aggressive Uh above all no matter what’s going on I think I had like missed honestly like six shots before I got hot late Um but like Chuck just said it’s my job um to close It’s my job to be aggressive It’s my job to make plays and trust my work down the stretch Um and no matter what I’m going to go out swimming I’m never I mean swinging Sorry I’m never going to shy away from those moments And uh it paid off tonight My mentality SGA JDub This is He has not come up in this conversation yet And I just think throughout this entire season we have to give him his flowers For the regular season he had on the defensive end offensive end He had the ball in his hands a little bit more today Can you talk about that trust that you and him have established through the losing initially and then now playing for a championship yeah he’s been the reason why we’re this deep Um he’s been so impressive just handling the ball controlling the pressure controlling the game timely baskets and then I don’t even get started on the defensive end He’s his third year in the NBA and all NBA players and all defensive players He’s an all-star Like not a lot of guys do that Um he’s a talented guy and uh the sky’s is the limit He’s like 23 24 years old and has has a bunch of room to grow But um hell of a player you know kind of look like us They made a conscious effort cuz they were they guarding you the entire court being banging They think last game they say they put seven different guys on you Did y’all make a conscious effort to let JDub and Caruso bring the ball up more so you didn’t have to do all the that heavy lifting absolutely Uh above all it’s important to like just trust my team Um especially in the biggest moments They’re battle tested They’ve been through so much with me without me Um and and we built that muscle all year to be able to trust them in the biggest moments and they came through tonight But that was definitely a conscious epic for sure SJ last one for you here Um what’s it like knowing you are now two wins away from a championship it’s a best of three series and potentially uh two of those games are going to be on your home court arguably the loudest arena in the NBA Yeah it’s it’s a lot better feeling than than 3-1 going home Um but with that being said there’s so much work to do We’re still so far from the finish line It’s a really good team on the other end and two wins against them is really hard and we got to focus on one win one position at a time one quarter at a time Um stack it all up and then when we get there we’ll get there But we’re still so far from the finish line Well we know you’re going to run through the tape of that finish line These three unfortunately this is their you know last harrah here They’re they’re done after this tonight Uh Chuck’s going to do some extra homework He’s got like two and a half hours more broadcasting So if you want to stick around with him he’s going to do your homework Good Congrats on the win Appreciate you you back for game five in Oklahoma City A 35point performance by Shay Gildas Alexander

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander joins NBA TV GameTime crew Charles Barkley, Candace Parker, Grant Hill, and Jared Greenberg after the Oklahoma City Thunder win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 of the 2025 NBA Finals.

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