Shai Gilgeous-Alexander posted a minus-28 rating and scored just 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting in Thursday's 118-91 Game 6 loss by the Oklahoma City Thunder to the San Antonio Spurs, matching the worst plus-minus by an NBA MVP in a series-clinching opportunity, according to ESPN Research.

The figure ties Joel Embiid's 2023 mark. Gilgeous-Alexander sat out the entire fourth quarter with Oklahoma City trailing by a lopsided margin.

It was the fourth consecutive game in which the back-to-back MVP shot below 40 percent from the floor. That stretch represents his worst sustained shooting run since 2021-22, the season before his first All-Star selection. Over the past four regular seasons, Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged more than 30 points while shooting better than 50 percent.

San Antonio guard Stephon Castle served as his primary defender for much of the night. Gilgeous-Alexander went 1-of-7 with Castle guarding him and is averaging 24.3 points on 37.9 percent shooting across the series.

"A lot of the shots that I'm shooting, I've shot plenty of times before and they feel good," said Gilgeous-Alexander. "They're just not going in. But it's too late to abandon my work and abandon my game and who I am. This late in the season, I've got to trust it and live or die by it."