Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder were upset by the Houston Rockets in a massive Western Conference clash. It was a surprising result, given how good SGA and OKC has been.

It was an off night for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had just 22 points. But more surprisingly, Shai went to the free-throw line just once for two shots.

Shai, just like Luka Doncic, has mastered the art of getting to the charity stripe. It’s a strategy that earns him a lot of criticism. One Celtics star outright said he couldn’t get away with flopping like SGA.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s father recently came out to defend him from these critics. But Mark Daigneault saw something go wrong for his star player.

Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images

Mark Daigneault spoke after the Thunder’s loss to the Rockets. When talking about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s struggles on the court, the head coach pulled no punches.

Daigneault believes Shai did have an off night, despite the team getting him good looks. However, he didn’t place all the blame on his SGA, as the Rockets played very well.

“I thought he missed a couple that he would normally make. They played a good amount of zone. I thought we generated some decent shots against that. It wasn’t his best night, obviously.”

“But I thought the game came down to more their effort on the glass, their ability to get those two guys free for 60 plus points – that doesn’t happen to us often.”

“And then just our overall sharpness on offense, with mainly the turnovers and some possessions that didn’t end in turnovers, but that we weren’t able to get a quality shot.”

However, Daingeault was more impressed by a player on the Rockets than anyone on his roster on the night.

Mark Daigneault also spoke about how well Amen Thompson played against them after the Rockets star had an efficient 16-point performance, while also guarding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The Thunder head coach applauded Thompson’s athleticism, but also his basketball intellect. He thinks Amen deserves credit as a well-rounded player.

“Obviously, the athleticism pops. He’s just a different twitch of athlete, but he’s a basketball player too. You know, he’s got a really good feel. He’s got good passing feel. He understands space and where to go on the floor.

“Obviously, made a couple jump shots tonight as well. But you know, he’s not limited to just his athleticism. He’s a well-rounded player.”

Thompson played some very strong defense on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and did it in a way where SGA couldn’t maneuver his way to the free-throw line.

Thompson is having a strong season, averaging 14.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. Those are very strong numbers for a player in just his sophomore year.