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Wilt Chamberlain has some NBA records that might never get touched, like the 100-point game, 4,000 points in a season and a 50-point-per-game scoring average.
That means that when he does get caught, in any category, it’s a big deal.
Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has now done just that, matching Chamberlain’s NBA record of 126 consecutive regular-season games of 20 or more points. The Hamilton native got there Monday night, scoring 35 points (with a career-high 15 assists, too) in the Thunder’s 129-126 win over the Denver Nuggets.
“It’s crazy to think that where I was 10 years ago, I’d be here today,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
It’s the latest accolade on a long list for Gilgeous-Alexander, who was MVP, NBA Finals MVP, the league’s scoring champion and led the Thunder to the league title last season. He’s also generally considered as a favourite in the MVP race this season.
He said he doesn’t try to fixate much on the scoring streak.
“It’s still a lot to even wrap my head around,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “To be honest with you, I try to not even think about it, especially during the season. So much is going on, so many things have to go right for you to get what you ultimately want, and that gets 100 per cent of my focus, especially basketball-wise.”
Gilgeous-Alexander gets his chance at pushing the streak to 127 games on Thursday, when the Thunder meet the visiting Boston Celtics at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Inside the numbers
A look at some of the numbers when the two streaks are compared:
- The Thunder record during Gilgeous-Alexander’s streak: 102-24.
- The Warriors’ record during Chamberlain’s streak: 66-60.
- Chamberlain’s highest-scoring game during his streak was the NBA-record 100-point outburst for the then-Philadelphia Warriors against New York on March 2, 1962.
- Gilgeous-Alexander’s highest-scoring game during the streak is 55 points, against Indiana on Oct. 23. (Chamberlain had 42games of 55 points or more during his run.)
- Gilgeous-Alexander has two games with exactly 20 points during his streak.
- Chamberlain’s low game during the streak was 23 points, an overtime loss to Boston. All 23 of those points came in regulation.
- Gilgeous-Alexander’s average during his streak: 32.5 points per game.
- Chamberlain’s average during his streak: 49.2 points per game.
- Gilgeous-Alexander’s shooting percentage during his streak: .535.
- Chamberlain’s shooting percentage during his streak: .511.
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How Wilt’s run ended
The 126th and final game of Chamberlain’s streak was Jan. 19, 1963, in St. Louis. He played all 48 minutes and finished with 35 points and 21 rebounds in a 116-114 loss against the Hawks.
The teams played again the next night. Chamberlain didn’t stick around long.
Referee Red Oates issued two technical fouls and tossed Chamberlain from the game after about four minutes, citing “abusive language” used by the superstar while he protested a foul call against teammate Wayne Hightower.
Chamberlain finished with six points. His scoring average dropped from 47.0 per game to 46.2 in one evening.
He also faced a mandatory ejection fine from the NBA. By league rule, it had to be at least $50 US.
What was next for Wilt
Chamberlain simply restarted his 20-point streak in San Francisco’s next game, that being Jan. 22, 1963, against Detroit.
He didn’t get thrown out. In today’s NBA, he would have.
Chamberlain threw several punches during a fourth-quarter melee that even saw some fans get onto the floor at the Cow Palace. No fouls, personal or technical, were called as a result of the fight.
Chamberlain had 39 points that night and went on to score at least 20 points in his next 20 games, so it’s reasonable to think he would have pushed the streak, had he not been ejected in St. Louis, to 147 games.
