Oklahoma City Thunder Cruise to 119-98 Win Over the San Antonio Spurs to Avoid Season Sweep
In yet another matchup between these two teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder were able to finally beat the San Antonio Spurs in a blowout win behind a second-half offensive surge to collect their 34th win of the season.
OKC’s Dynamic Duo Stars in Win Versus Spurs
It was the same story as it’s been all season for the defending champs, as Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams continued to show his reestablished rhythm in tonight’s win for Oklahoma City. The All-NBA Third Team forward scored 20 points to go along with a pair of steals as J-Dub showed his two-way prowess against San Antonio.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a one-man show for the Thunder, as their franchise superstar in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put on a scoring display in the win. The reigning league MVP finished with an efficient 34 points while also adding in five rebounds and five assists in an all-around effort.
The Thunder’s bench also came through as per usual for Oklahoma City, with three players scoring in double figures in clean-up duty tonight. The bench mob for the Thunder was of course led by Alex Caruso, who showed his scoring chops off tonight. The two-time NBA champion scored 13 points as he finished with a great plus-minus of 27, as Caruso continues to be the main driving force behind the best bench unit in the league
Spurs Offense Goes Silent in the Second Half
After heading into halftime trailing 55-52 and well within striking distance, the Spurs’ offense couldn’t overcome the Thunder’s relentless defensive pressure in the second half to close the gap. The Spurs would shoot just 36% from the field in the second half, including a dreadful 17% from three-point range, as the Thunder used a 40-point third quarter to put the game out of reach.
Despite the loss, there was at least one good thing to come out of this game for the Spurs, with their superstar Victor Wembanyama making NBA history tonight. The French big man became the second-youngest player to reach 500 blocks in a career, with Wembanyama accomplishing this goal in just 143 games played.
While it was a tremendous achievement for the Spurs franchise star, it was an entirely different story performance-wise tonight. After throwing down two highlight reel dunks early in the game, Wembanyama would finish with a quiet stat line of 17 points and 7 rebounds in the loss.
OKC’s Race to 74 Wins Still Alive
When the Thunder started an NBA-best 24-1 to start the season, the Thunder seemed poised to threaten the legendary 2015-16 Golden State Warriors’ record win total of 73. Fast forward 15 games, and that record pace by the Thunder has slowed down significantly.
However, their hopes have not yet been dashed as they’re still in elite company with their 34th win through 41 games so far this season. Tonight’s win gave them the third-best record through 41 games in NBA history, with both that same Warriors squad and the 2019-2020 Milwaukee Bucks sharing that notable achievement at a 35-6 record each.
That level of historic precedence should give both Thunder fans and players a bit of optimism in their quest to break the wins record. The Thunder will, of course, have to lose only one more game over the next 41 games to keep their hopes alive. However, with players like Williams rounding into form and an all-time great bench, it’d be folly to dampen the defending champs chances.
