Thunder star and NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's record 20-point streak ends at 141 games

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander decided it was time for his record streak of 20-point games to end.

The Oklahoma City star’s run of 141 consecutive regular season contests with at least 20 points ended Thursday night when he subbed himself out toward the end of a game against the Denver Nuggets.

Gilgeous-Alexander had just hit a 3-pointer, pushing his total for the night to 17 points and giving the Thunder a 17-point lead when Denver called timeout with 1:43 remaining. Gilgeous-Alexander initially was going back onto the floor when play resumed, but as he walked onto the court he noticed that the Nuggets had subbed out their entire starting lineup.

The outcome of the game had been conceded, and realizing that, the two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player returned to the bench and knew the streak was ending. The Thunder won the game 96-84, improving to 2-0 for the season.

“I feel like you always treat the game with respect,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters in Oklahoma City after the game.

The 141-game streak — which started on Nov. 1, 2024 — topped the previous mark held by Wilt Chamberlain. He scored 20 or more points in 126 consecutive regular season games spanning from Oct. 19, 1961 through Jan. 19, 1963.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was willing to give Gilgeous-Alexander at least one more possession to try and hit the 20-point mark on Thursday. It was a difficult decision for Daigneault; in the NBA, when the outcome is decided and one team empties its bench, typically the other does as well.

“He’s got a historic streak going, which is a remarkable streak, obviously,” Daigneault said. “And I just think for the class that it shows and the perspective that it shows for him to say, ‘Hey, I’m out now. The game’s calling for me to be subbed out of the game.’ ... Of all the things that I admire about him, that’s towards the top of the list in terms of moments that I appreciate about him. It shows tremendous class as a competitor.”

Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 32.1 points per game during his record streak, and the Thunder went 116-25 in those 141 games.

He scored at least 30 points in 92 of those 141 games, reaching 40 points on 21 occasions and scoring 50 or more points five times. There were only six games where he finished with exactly 20 points.

Thursday’s game was a rare struggle for Gilgeous-Alexander, who missed all seven of his shots from the field in the first half and went into the break with just two points — his lowest first-half total since the streak started. He had 15 points after halftime, and another 3-pointer in the final 1:43 would have given him 20 points once again.

But Daigneault said Gilgeous-Alexander’s “competitive class” was proved by the star guard electing to call it a night.

“It’s a historic record,” Daigneault said. “It’s a little bit of a dilemma if you’re in my position. But he put me in a great position there. I would have left him. I was going to leave him.”

Gilgeous-Alexander will hold this record for some time.

The longest current run of consecutive 20-point regular season efforts is now held by Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard — who has done it each of his last 58 games. The next longest streak of 20-point games is held by Phoenix’s Devin Booker, who has 10 in a row.

“God willing, I have many more games to start another streak,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s not the end of the world.”

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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) looks to shoot against Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, right, signs autographs for fans before an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander celebrates after making a basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander celebrates with fans after making a basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Vivek Ramaswamy ’s team confirmed late Tuesday that it produced a controversial advertisement featuring the estranged mother of Amy Acton, and the campaign said it will spend $4 million to promote it despite facing bipartisan rebuke for dredging up the painful childhood of his Democratic opponent in Ohio’s governor’s race.

The decision exacerbates a deeply personal element in one of the country's most closely watched and expensive campaigns for state office. Questions about the video will likely shadow Ramaswamy, a biotech billionaire who previously ran for president but has never before held public office, in the final two weeks of the contest. Democrats said he was growing desperate at a moment when more than 676,000 people have already cast ballots in Ohio.

The advertisement features Acton's birth mother, Donna Arthur, calling her “a liar” and insinuating she has mental health issues. Acton, Ohio's former public health director, has made no secret of facing homelessness and abuse as a child. Arthur lost custody of her children after their stepfather was indicted for raping Acton.

The video's origins were initially murky when it started circulating online. It first surfaced in a post by an Ohio political blogger, then spread across social media. It did not include the “paid for” tag that is legally required to air on television so viewers can know who produced and paid for it. D.J. Byrnes, who blogs as “The Rooster,” told CNN he got the video from a voter who viewed it as part of a poll and recorded it.

Connie Luck, a spokesperson for Ramaswamy's campaign, said Acton's mother was not paid for the one-minute video, which she said will stream online and air on television.

Acton spent Tuesday condemning Ramaswamy for the ad even before his campaign confirmed its provenance.

“I won’t normalize somebody who has said that my childhood is just something I’m complaining about, who today just released an ad using my birth mother, who I was removed from at the age of 12 for severe abuse and neglect, and sexual abuse," she told Spectrum News, a cable news outlet in Ohio.

She said Ramaswamy made similar personal attacks during his run for the Republican presidential nomination two years ago, calling it “a lifelong pattern.”

Ramaswamy’s campaign initially issued a statement that did not address whether he was responsible for the ad or knew who produced it. In the earlier statement, Luck said Acton “has some serious problems with the truth that the public needs to be aware of.”

Casey Putsch, a car designer and YouTube provocateur who competed against Ramaswamy for the Republican nomination for governor, said on social media that he would be voting for Acton in the wake of the ad's release. He called the video “pretty damn low.”

Acton's campaign released a statement from her brother, Philip Stearns, who said the two were removed from their mother Donna Arthur's custody as children after their stepfather, Arthur's husband, was indicted for raping Acton as a child. Acton has not seen Arthur, whose last known address was in Pennsylvania, since they were in a courtroom together in 1978.

Later Tuesday, the Acton campaign released a video featuring Stearns, who recalls his older sister taking “the worst” of the abuse they faced as children in order to protect him and disparages Ramaswamy and his allies for exploiting the situation.

According to police and court documents obtained by The Associated Press, Cledith Arthur was arrested and charged with the rape of his stepdaughter, then 12, in July 1978, after Acton's biological father reported him to authorities. The abuse allegedly happened from December 1976 to April 1978.

Cledith Arthur pleaded not guilty. He was indicted by a grand jury that September, but failed to show at a court hearing and remained a fugitive until at least 1981. He has since died.

High-profile Republicans who back Ramaswamy — including Donald Trump Jr. and influencer Laura Loomer — elevated the video in online posts.

But others joined Democrats in condemning the ad. Meghan McCain called it “dastardly” and Dan Hauser, a strategist for Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, said he deleted his post sharing the video once he realized “the very serious accusations that caused their issues.”

The Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Ohio, Sherrod Brown, described the spot as “disgusting” and said everyone — including his opponent, Sen. Jon Husted — should be willing to condemn it. Husted's campaign didn't respond to a request for comment.

This story was first published on Oct. 20, 2026. It was published again on Oct. 23, 2026, to correct the blogger’s name to D.J. Byrnes, not D.J. Brynes.

Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump listens as gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at a campaign rally at the Covelli Centre, in Youngstown, Ohio, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)