Thunder prevail in battle of young stars, crush Spurs

Field Level Media|published: Tue 14th November, 22:32 2023

Nov 14, 2023; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) drives past San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) during the second quarter at Paycom Center. credits: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the host Oklahoma City Thunder to a 123-87 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.

Gilgeous-Alexander added six rebounds, five assists and a career-high seven steals.

Oklahoma City forced 25 San Antonio turnovers, outscoring the Spurs 23-13 off giveaways in the process.

The win was the Thunder's second straight and fourth in five games. It was also Oklahoma City's first victory of the the NBA's in-season tournament, keeping the Thunder's hopes of moving to the knockout stage alive.

Oklahoma City is now 1-2 in in-season tournament play.

The Spurs have lost six consecutive games, including two in the tournament, where San Antonio is 0-2.

Tuesday's game was the first regular-season showdown between two of the league's most prominent rookies — San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft, and Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 draft who missed all of last season with a foot injury.

Neither was as sharp as they've been for much of the season.

Holmgren scored nine points on 3-of-10 shooting with seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

Wembanyama had a season-low eight points on 4-of-15 shooting, but he added 14 rebounds and two blocks.

As time wound down in the first half, Gilgeous-Alexander picked off a Zach Collins pass and fed it to Josh Giddey.

As Giddey drove to the basket, he faked a pass to the wing before flipping it over his shoulder to Holmgren for a dunk to send the Thunder into the locker room on a 13-0 run and with a 58-48 lead.

That defensive intensity from the Thunder continued in the third quarter, as Oklahoma City outscored San Antonio 33-18 in the period to all but put the game away.

Gilgeous-Alexander (13 points) and Giddey (10) combined for 23 third-quarter points.

Giddey finished with 18 points and seven assists for the game.

Julian Champagnie and Collins scored 13 points apiece to lead the Spurs.

San Antonio was without backup point guard Tre Jones for the second consecutive game due to right hamstring tightness. Keldon Johnson, who is dealing with right knee soreness, was also out for the Spurs.

—Field Level Media

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