(Photo by Getty)
The Oklahoma City Thunder made a statement by defeating the San Antonio Spurs 119–98. The Thunder had lost three times to their division rivals this season before this triumph. The win not only kept Oklahoma City at the top of the NBA standings, but it also drew attention to star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s growing dominance.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 34 points, keeping up his amazing record of consistency that has defined his season. Because of his hard work, the defending champions were able to increase their record to a league-best 34-7 at the midway point of the season. This left them on course to match their great regular-season record from the year before, which was 68-14.
Oklahoma City is back in the swing of things, as they have won four games in a row. This comes after a modest drop after the squad started off with an amazing 24-1 record. Jalen Williams helped a lot by scoring 20 points, while Chet Holmgren helped in every way by scoring 8 points, getting 10 rebounds, and blocking 3 shots.
Isaiah Hartenstein, a superb rebounder, and Lu Dort, a defensive specialist, were both missing for the Thunder, yet they were still able to dominate the game from start to finish. Their defense was especially good since they only let San Antonio shoot 40% from the floor and made it hard for the Spurs to get into a steady attacking rhythm.
Stephon Castle led the San Antonio squad in scoring with 20 points. Even though youngster Victor Wembanyama scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds, the Spurs couldn’t keep up with the pace of the game as it went on. At the start of the night, San Antonio was in second place in the Western Conference, behind Oklahoma City.
Before this, they had previously shown they were a serious rival by beating the Thunder three times in a row over the period of two weeks in the month before. Certainly, this loss was the sixth time in their last ten games that they had lost, which is certainly a reason to be concerned.
Because both sides knew how important the fight was, the competition began with a lot of intensity. Oklahoma City led 32-26 after the first quarter, owing in part to Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 13 points and established the tone for the game. Even though the Spurs played well in short bursts, the game was tight heading into halftime, with the Thunder maintaining a narrow advantage of 55–52.
It was the third quarter that made the difference. Once Gilgeous-Alexander took control of the game, he started attacking the lane, drawing fouls, and making jumpers. At the midway point of the session, he made a three-point play that gave Oklahoma City a 73-62 lead. This was his “111th straight game with at least 20 points,” which is the second-longest such streak in NBA history.
This shot was even more important since it handed him his “111th consecutive game with at least 20 points.” He had already scored 15 points before the end of the quarter, and the Thunder were in control, leading their opponents 95-76. At that time, Oklahoma City never looked back.
The Spurs team had trouble stopping the other team, but their ball movement stayed quick, their defense stayed disciplined, and their depth kept wearing out the other team. The Thunder’s ability to score on both ends of the floor led to the final score of 21 points, which showed how much better they were in the second half of the game.
The win had more effects on both teams than just the score. Oklahoma City saw it as a sign of strength and growth. After a tough stretch earlier in the season when they were facing San Antonio, the Thunder were able to adapt, respond, and show why they are thought to be the best team in the NBA. The fact that they could win easily without two starters showed that they were even more versatile and deep.
The defeat made many worry about how well the Spurs could keep up their good play. Their past success against Oklahoma City suggested that they were among the best in the Western Conference. However, their recent string of uneven performances showed that they still have work to do as they deal with the long season and the pressure of higher expectations.
The two teams will play each other for the final time in the regular season on February 4 in San Antonio. In that game, the Spurs will have a chance to make up for what they did wrong, and the Thunder will have another chance to show that what happened on Tuesday wasn’t a fluke. Gilgeous-Alexander’s amazing scoring streak and Oklahoma City’s unstoppable momentum had set the standard for the rest of the league up to that point.
