One head-to-head result in early March does not, by itself, decide something as massive as which player will wind up winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award. It can, however, provide an opportunity to make an emphatic statement. Like, for example, capping your league-leading 11th 40-point game of the season with a late-fourth-quarter run to help turn a tight game into yet another blowout win.
Plenty of pundits seized the opportunity on Sunday to argue that the Thunder’s marquee matinee win over the Nuggets all but secured the first MVP trophy of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s career.