The Oklahoma City Thunder fell 122-115 in double overtime to the San Antonio Spurs in a thrilling Western Conference Finals opener, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finishing 7-of-23 from the floor with four turnovers across 51 gruelling minutes.
He did add 24 points and 12 assists, but it wasn’t close to his standard.
“We just got to be better — me, in particular,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “I have to be better, especially against a team of this caliber. Nothing more than that.”
The Spurs had a clear game plan.
Victor Wembanyama, the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, sagged off spot-up shooters to clog the paint and protect the rim, while San Antonio threw a steady diet of double-teams at SGA whenever he touched the ball. The strategy worked for long stretches.
SGA, the first player to average at least 30 points in four straight seasons since Michael Jordan, was kept off rhythm for most of the night.
Ironically, the scheme opened the door for Alex Caruso, who torched the Spurs for a playoff career-high 31 points by going 8-of-14 from three – the shots Wembanyama deliberately left open.
SGA didn’t score in either overtime period.
“It’s obviously challenging — very tall, very long, deters a lot of things at the rim,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of Wembanyama. “You’ve got to be smart when you go in there. Be patient, but also be aggressive. I think you get caught worrying about it too much, and you lose aggression. That’s where they really put a stranglehold on the game.”
Coach Mark Daigneault backed his star while acknowledging the Thunder have problems to solve.
“They’re good schematically. They obviously have a lot of tools,” Daigneault said. “But there’s a reason we are where we are, and one of the things that I love about this team is our problem-solving. We’ve been in these series before. We’ve hit these types of plateaus.”
Despite the loss, SGA wasn’t ready to hit the panic button.
“Sometimes you’re your best version, sometimes you’re not. You’ve got to roll with the punches, don’t get discouraged and stay true to who you are.”
Game 2 can’t come soon enough.
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