Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points and blew out the Nuggets in Sunday's game. Jokic got his lick back Monday with a near 35-point triple-double and double-digit win over the

Gilgeous-Alexander is on the hunt for his first MVP and has left no doubt that he belongs in the conversation. After finishing second in voting last year, many felt he should have won due to OKC’s surprising rise to the No. 1 seed in the West. This season, he has only strengthened that argument.

The NBA's top-two MVP candidates—Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander—faced off in back-to-back games between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday and Monday. Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander got to directly go up against each other, and each prove their merits for the award.