Thunder
Thunder win 31-16 second quarter, hold off Spurs 116-104
The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 116-104 at Frost Bank Center on Oct. 20. Oklahoma City won the second quarter 31-16 and led 65-44 at halftime, then held on when San Antonio scored 36 in the third. The Thunder are 2-0 and first in the West, and the Spurs are 0-1 and 10th.
By the Hoops Nightly Desk · updated 2 d ago01The story of the nightThe second quarter decided itThe game was close early.
The game was close early. There were five lead changes, and the Spurs led by as many as 3 points. Oklahoma City won the first quarter 34-28, then pulled away in the second, outscoring San Antonio 31-16 to lead 65-44 at the break. The Thunder's lead reached 26. The Spurs came back in the third quarter, outscoring Oklahoma City 36-28 to cut the deficit to 93-80. They won the fourth 24-23, but that wasn't enough to get back in it. San Antonio's 16-point second quarter was the difference in the final margin.
02Gilgeous-Alexander and McCain carry the scoringShai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 32 points on 13-of-27 shooting, including 3 of 7 from three.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 32 points on 13-of-27 shooting, including 3 of 7 from three. He also had 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks in 36.1 minutes. Jared McCain scored 20 off the bench on 7-of-9 shooting and made 6 of 8 threes. He was plus-20 in 22.1 minutes, the best mark in the game. Chet Holmgren added 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks, and he made all 8 of his free throws. Jalen Williams scored 12 but shot 5 of 16. Alex Caruso had 9 points and 6 rebounds, made both his threes and finished plus-16.
03Castle leads San Antonio, Wembanyama struggles to scoreStephon Castle led the Spurs with 24 points on 9-of-21 shooting, including 5 of 12 from three, and had 7 rebounds.
Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 24 points on 9-of-21 shooting, including 5 of 12 from three, and had 7 rebounds. Dylan Harper scored 18 with 7 rebounds and 5 assists. De'Aaron Fox was efficient, shooting 6 of 9 for 14 points with 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Victor Wembanyama had 13 rebounds and 6 blocks but made just 1 of 13 shots from the field and missed all 4 of his threes. He scored 12 points, 10 of them at the free-throw line on 10-of-12 shooting, and had 4 turnovers. Keldon Johnson scored 10 off the bench.
04Where it was won: threes and the benchThe Spurs won several categories.
The Spurs won several categories. They outscored Oklahoma City 48-42 in the paint and 31-12 on the fast break, and they made 22 of 25 free throws to the Thunder's 16 of 20. Shooting decided it. Oklahoma City shot 45.3 percent from the field to San Antonio's 38.7, and made 14 of 31 threes to San Antonio's 10 of 37. The benches were lopsided too: the Thunder's reserves outscored the Spurs' 48-29, with McCain responsible for 20 of those points. Oklahoma City also outrebounded San Antonio 61-56 and committed 11 turnovers to the Spurs' 13.
05What it meansOklahoma City is 2-0 and first in the West.
Oklahoma City is 2-0 and first in the West. The Thunder won on the road without a strong shooting night from Jalen Williams, because McCain and the bench gave them steady offense. San Antonio is 0-1 and 10th in the West. The Spurs generated plenty of transition and paint points, but they made just 10 threes on 37 attempts and scored only 16 points in the second quarter. Julian Champagnie was minus-24 in 30 minutes. San Antonio will need more from Wembanyama as a scorer than one made field goal.
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