OKC’s Gilgeous-Alexander on late-game fatigue: ‘Got to suck it up’

Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said fatigue is not an excuse after they lost the third game of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers. Alexander said this is high time of the season and he would look to bring his best to the court.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA MVP, finished with 24 points and four assists in Game 3 and he was not at his best in the fourth quarter, in which the Pacers outscored the Thunder by 32-18.

“You got to suck it up,” Gilgeous-Alexander said Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. “There’s a maximum four games left in the season. It’s what you worked the whole season for. It’s what you worked all summer for. To me, the way I see it, you got to suck it up, get it done and try to get a win.”

Pacers shooting guard Andrew Nembhard said they are trying their best to keep Shai at bay.

“I think we’re trying to make it tough on him,” said Pacers shooting guard Andrew Nembhard, the primary defender on Gilgeous-Alexander. “The biggest thing is just you’re persistent, trying to make it tough on him. It’s a team job. We all have to be locked in and tied together on that end of the floor to get it done.”

Gilgeous-Alexander denied exhaustion as an issue in the fourth quarter.

“I’m not too sure. I don’t think so,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s a physical game. We’ve had plenty of physical games. We’ve had games like that where I’ve been great late, games where I’ve stunk late. I don’t think it was anything out the blue, anything I hadn’t seen before.”

Game 4 of the series is in Indianapolis on Friday night.