SGA's 141-Game 20-Point Streak Ends in a Thunder Win; the Giannis Trade Ripples as Herro's Bucks Fall at Home in a Game Moved for the World Series
What changed (Oct 22-24): The NBA's most durable scoring streak is over. Per NBA.com's recap of Oklahoma City's 96-84 win over Denver: "Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's remarkable streak of 20+ point games ends at 141 as he scores 17 points in a win over the Denver Nuggets." The streak ends not in a loss or a slump, but in a routine 12-point October win — the quietest possible way to close a 141-game run.
The Giannis trade keeps rippling through Milwaukee. Per the AP: "Norman Powell had 25 points, rookie Caleb Wilson added 21 and the Chicago Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks 132-125 on Friday" — a game "played four hours earlier than originally scheduled because of the Milwaukee Brewers hosting Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night." Tyler Herro, "a Milwaukee-area native who was one of four players shipped to the Bucks in a blockbuster off-season trade that sent franchise cornerstone Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat," scored 34 in the loss; fellow ex-Heat man Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 19 points and 11 rebounds, with Kyle Kuzma (14) and Myles Turner (12) also in double figures. The Bucks are 0-2 after dropping their opener in Washington, while the Bulls rebounded from a 135-92 demolition in Toronto.
What it means: Opening week's debut-parade storylines (Edwards' 45 against Giannis' Miami debut, AD's Washington debut, Kessler's 12-for-12 for the Lakers — see the prior revision of this note) have given way to the season's first milestones: SGA's streak dying at 141 in a win, and a new-look Bucks team that can score but can't stop anyone sitting at 0-2. The "who won the Giannis trade" argument will run all season, and through two games the Heat look like the answer.