SAN FRANCISCO -- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's second career 50-point game -- and second in the span of four games -- was not a cause for celebration.
That's because it occurred in a rare loss for the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder, who fell to the Golden State Warriors 116-109 on Wednesday night despite Gilgeous-Alexander pouring in 52 points.
"It sucks. Me personally, I play to win," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Winning comes first and foremost, and if I don't win, I am not satisfied. So maybe my 52 points tonight wasn't in the best interest of the team."
Gilgeous-Alexander became the first player in the league with multiple 50-point performances this season; he scored a career-high 54 points in the Thunder's Jan. 22 home win over the Utah Jazz. He joined Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook as the only players in franchise history with multiple 50-point performances in a season.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA's scoring leader at 32.5 points per game, finished 16-of-29 from the floor and 18-of-21 from the line, the most free throw attempts of his career.
"He's cold," Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins said. "He's tough. He can score at all three levels; he gets to the foul line and he doesn't stop. The whole game he's at you. ... We did the best we can."
Gilgeous-Alexander got off to a blistering start at Chase Center as the Thunder (37-9) jumped to a 14-point lead in the first quarter, when he had 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor. It was a spectacular display of ballhandling, body control and shot-making as Gilgeous-Alexander carved up a Golden State defense that frequently committed a second defender to him.
"Sometimes, even when you're out there, you kind of get caught watching," said Thunder forward Jalen Williams, who scored 26 points on 12-of-26 shooting. "Because he's getting to places on the floor that you shouldn't be able to with how the defense is guarding him. And it's kind of just one of those things that you got to snap out of it a little bit and not get caught watching and be ready to be an outlet for him or cut or still be engaged in the offense."
It was the second time in two weeks that Gilgeous-Alexander has single-handedly outscored the opposing team in the first quarter, which no other player in the league has done more than once this season, according to ESPN Research.
In the first instance, the Thunder cruised to a blowout win over the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 16. On Wednesday, Oklahoma City players other than Gilgeous-Alexander struggled to find a rhythm in the final few quarters, when the Thunder were held to 75 points on 37.3% shooting as the Warriors rallied.
"There's probably a tendency in those situations where he's just humming [to get caught watching Gilgeous-Alexander]." Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "But we also have an identity as a team. We have a bunch of guys that have confidence. We have to be that team regardless of context. Whether he's having an off night, which doesn't happen often, or whether he's having a night like tonight."
With the Thunder struggling to generate offense from others, Daigneault adjusted his rotation in the fourth quarter to cut his superstar's rest short. Gilgeous-Alexander checked back in with the score tied and 9:55 remaining, about three minutes earlier than usual.
"I don't know what to do with Shai," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "I asked Mark to just leave him on the bench for a couple of more minutes, and he did not comply. I Iooked down to Mark and said, 'You can't give him like two more minutes. That would be really helpful for us.' And Mark just laughed."
But the Warriors (24-23) pulled away down the stretch. Gilgeous-Alexander's last two buckets came in the final minute when the Warriors were up by three-possession margins.
"I'll watch the game over, see where I could have been better and trying to win the game is most important for me," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I'm not satisfied. This doesn't feel nearly as good as the other [50-point performance] did because of the L."
ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this report.