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Oklahoma City Thunder beat San Antonio Spurs 116-104: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 32 and Jared McCain hits six threes in the rematch
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 and Jared McCain hit six threes as the Thunder beat the Spurs 116-104 in San Antonio, their first meeting since last season's Game 7. Victor Wembanyama went 1-for-13.
In this article
The Oklahoma City Thunder got a measure of revenge on the team that ended their title defense, beating the San Antonio Spurs 116-104 at Frost Bank Center on Tuesday, October 20. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 32 points, Jared McCain added 20 off the bench with six threes, and Oklahoma City never trailed after the first six minutes in front of 19,160 fans.
It was the first meeting since San Antonio won Game 7 of last season’s Western Conference finals 111-103 in Oklahoma City on May 30. Victor Wembanyama finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 6 blocks, but he made just 1 of 13 shots from the field, and his only basket was an alley-oop from De’Aaron Fox at the third-quarter buzzer.
Video: NBA / X.
How it turned
The Spurs scored first on a Devin Vassell three and led 11-9 midway through the first quarter. McCain then took over the end of the period: two jumpers in 18 seconds, a 27-foot three and an assist on an Alex Caruso three, and Caruso hit another one late as the Thunder went up 34-28 after one.
The game boiled over three minutes into the second quarter. Fox was called for a flagrant 1 foul for throwing Chet Holmgren to the floor after the two got tangled in the paint, and the scrum that followed ended with technical fouls on Jaylin Williams, Jalen Williams and Kenrich Williams. Holmgren made both free throws, Kenrich Williams hit a three on the next trip, and Oklahoma City used the momentum to outscore San Antonio 31-16 in the quarter. A 13-0 run, capped by Gilgeous-Alexander’s step-back three, made it 59-33, and the Thunder took a 65-44 lead into halftime.
San Antonio came out of the break with layups from Dylan Harper and a Stephon Castle three-point barrage, and a 22-9 burst cut the deficit to 74-67 with six minutes left in the third. Oklahoma City steadied itself behind its rookie center Aday Mara, who blocked a Wembanyama lob and dunked an alley-oop on the other end, and Gilgeous-Alexander’s late three-point play pushed the lead back to 93-78.
The Spurs got within 95-88 on two Harper free throws with 8:18 left, but McCain answered with a three and Cason Wallace followed with a dunk. When Castle’s pull-up three cut it to 104-97 with 4:18 to play, McCain hit his sixth three on the next trip and Gilgeous-Alexander added a jumper for a 109-97 cushion. Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein then blocked shots six seconds apart to finish it off.
The numbers
Gilgeous-Alexander shot 13-of-27 and added 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks in 36 minutes. McCain went 7-of-9 from the field and 6-of-8 from three in 22 minutes and was plus-20, the best mark on either team. Holmgren had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks and made all 8 of his free throws, Jalen Williams scored 12 with 7 rebounds, Caruso had 9 points on 3-of-4 shooting and was plus-16, and Ajay Mitchell handed out 6 assists.
Oklahoma City shot 45 percent from three, 14-of-31, while San Antonio went 10-of-37. The Thunder blocked 10 shots, the Spurs 11, and San Antonio won the fast-break battle 31-12 and the paint 48-42, but it could not dig out of the second-quarter hole.
San Antonio’s side
Castle led the Spurs with 24 points, going 5-of-12 from three, and Harper scored 18 with 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Fox had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists on 6-of-9 shooting, and Keldon Johnson added 10 off the bench. Wembanyama got 10 of his 12 points at the free-throw line, where he went 10-of-12; it was the fewest field goals he has made in a game since going 2-of-5 against Minnesota in May.
“We’re just happy to be back… 1 of 82,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after the win, keeping the rematch in perspective.
What’s next
The Thunder play their home opener against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, October 22 (9:30 p.m. ET, 4:30 a.m. Friday Cairo time). The Spurs host the Houston Rockets at Moody Center in Austin on Friday, October 23 (9:30 p.m. ET, 4:30 a.m. Saturday Cairo time).
Full box score and play-by-play: Game Center. All-time head-to-head. More from the game: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the rematch, the numbers behind Wembanyama’s 1-for-13 and Mitch Johnson on the Spurs’ effort.
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