Thunder Rout Spurs 116-104 in Playoff Rematch as Wembanyama Goes 1-of-13
Oklahoma City built a 21-point halftime lead on opening night and held off a San Antonio rally in a rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals.
The Oklahoma City Thunder opened their season with a 116-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night, in a game that began as a conference finals rematch and turned physical early in the second quarter.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 32 points, five rebounds and four assists, according to Yahoo Sports. Jared McCain added 20 points off the bench, including a career-high six three-pointers. For San Antonio, Stephon Castle scored 24 points with seven rebounds, and Dylan Harper added 18.
The second quarter decided it
The turning point came early in the second quarter. Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox took Thunder center Chet Holmgren down in the paint and was called for a flagrant foul, which set off a shoving match. Victor Wembanyama, Jalen Williams, Jaylin Williams and Kenrich Williams each received a technical foul, and no one was ejected, per Yahoo Sports. The Thunder followed with a 9-0 run and, as Yahoo reported, led by as many as 26 points. Oklahoma City went into halftime ahead 65-44.
A quiet night for Wembanyama
Wembanyama finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks, but shot 1 of 13 from the field. By Yahoo's account he missed his first 12 shots, the worst shooting start of any game in his career, and scored his only field goal on a dunk at the end of the third quarter. AFP reported that most of his points came from 10 free throws.
The backdrop
Both sides framed the night around last season. Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters, per AFP: "Obviously, this is the team that eliminated us from achieving our goal." He added: "It's a longer summer when you don't win, and we felt that this summer." After the win he told NBC that the game "doesn't prove anything," saying, "We took a step in the right direction," according to Yahoo.
What it means
One game is one game, and the Thunder themselves said as much. Still, the result gives Oklahoma City an early answer to the team that ended their last campaign, and it leaves San Antonio with a clear item to fix: their franchise centre was largely taken out of the game as a scorer, and the Spurs never recovered from the second-quarter deficit despite cutting into it after the break.
The Spurs will want a cleaner start next time out; the Thunder will take the win and move on.