Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 51 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder reached the 50-win mark by pulling past the Houston Rockets on Monday at Paycom Center.

The Oklahoma City Thunder superstar went for 51 points Monday during a 137-128 win over the Houston Rockets. OKC is now 50-11 on the season, the first team in the Western Conference to reach 50 victories — and it got there before any other West squad won 40.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 51 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Houston Rockets 137-128 on Monday night for their 50th win of the season.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 51 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 137-128 home win over the Houston Rockets on Monday.

The Oklahoma City Thunder picked up its 50th win of the season by beating the Houston Rockets 137-128 Monday night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, appropriately, reco

Alexander’s putback basket in the fourth quarter put him over 50 points and sent the Oklahoma City crowd into a frenzy.

Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander saw his team return to its stifling defensive identity in Wednesday night’s 120-103 win against the Memphis Grizzlies. For Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s top-ranked defense hasn’t been the same lately before the Thunder held Ja Morant and the Grizzlies’ offense to 103 points on 40.7% shooting.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has more 50-point games in the last 40 days than Shaquille O’Neal had in his 19-year career. To put it another way, SGA has recorded as many 50 burgers since the debut of “Severance” Season 2 as Klay Thompson did through three presidential terms.

Add the NBA's official MVP ladder as the latest believer. In this week's edition, Shaun Powell placed Gilgeous-Alexander at the top of the rankings. He and Jokic have gone back and forth between the top two spots. The 26-year-old is fresh off scoring 92 total points by himself against the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 51 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 137-128 home win over the Houston Rockets on Monday.

This is the fourth of five matchups between the Thunder and Rockets this season, with Oklahoma City winning two of the first three games.

The Rockets’ typically-elite defense has been generous to opposing PGs across the last seven games. In that span, Houston has surrendered 26 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 7.5 assists to the position, which is good for 40.1 PRA.