New NBA season, same Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

In an NBA Finals rematch, last season's MVP put up a new career high with 55 points on the night as the Thunder defeated the Pacers 141-135 in double overtime. He added eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block and connected on 23 of his whopping 26 free-throw attempts.

Oklahoma City has remarkably went to two overtimes in each of their first two games after their 125-124 win over the Rockets on their ring night Tuesday where Gilgeous-Alexander had 35 points. The star guard has played 92 minutes over the Thunder's first two games, which made him look understandably exhausted toward the end of their thrilling win against the Pacers.

Thursday's win in Indiana marked the fifth 50-point game of his career. The other four all came last season, including his previous career high of 54 points against the Jazz in January. He led the NBA with 32.7 points per game last year and received MVP honors for the first time in his career. The Thunder then stormed through the playoffs on the way to the franchise's first title since their Seattle days. They needed seven games to get past the Pacers and Gilgeous-Alexander was named Finals MVP once all was said and done.

The reigning MVP is off to a hot start as Oklahoma City begins their title defense and there are no signs of him slowing down now.

SGA and the Thunder will have a day off before they continue a brief road trip with their next game in Atlanta against the Hawks on Saturday. They travel to Dallas for a matchup with Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks on Monday before returning home. It took their all, but the Thunder move to 2-0 behind the NBA's best bucket getter.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Sets New Career High With Massive Game in Double-OT Thriller.