Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was blunt when breaking down his struggles in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
“I have sucked when I get too long of a break,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I don’t think it’s anything other than that. I guess I gotta do a better job with my breaks.”
Two days later, the reigning two-time Most Valuable Player was much better in Game 2, scoring 30 points and helping lift the Thunder to a 122-113 home win over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
The result evened the best-of-seven series at one victory apiece ahead of Game 3 on Friday at San Antonio.
After his team got off to a sluggish start in Game 1 on Monday before going on to lose in double overtime, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault expected better in Game 2.
He certainly got it.
The Thunder never trailed after the first quarter, though the game wasn’t decided until the closing minutes.
Oklahoma City did it with more efficiency from Gilgeous-Alexander, a bounce-back performance from Chet Holmgren, more minutes from Isaiah Hartenstein, and another strong defensive performance despite losing Jalen Williams to yet another hamstring injury.
They also slowed Spurs star Victor Wembanyama.
Wembanyama had 41 points and 24 rebounds in an historic performance in the series opener. On Wednesday, he put up 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting while adding 17 rebounds and four blocks.
Though the Thunder led for all but about a minute of the second half and stretched their lead as high as 13, the Spurs cut the deficit to just five with a little more than a minute remaining. San Antonio then got the ball back after Gilgeous-Alexander was called for an offensive foul.
However, Devin Vassell missed a 3-pointer on the other end and the possession ended with Stephon Castle’s ninth turnover of the game.
Gilgeous-Alexander then drilled a step-back jumper, and after a Castle missed a 3-point attempt, Alex Caruso’s driving layup put the game away with less than 19.7 seconds remaining.
Gilgeous-Alexander shot 12 of 24 after going 7 for 23 from the floor in Game 1. He added nine assists on Wednesday.
Holmgren struggled to get touches in the series opener, finishing with just eight points on 2-of-7 shooting.
He scored 13 in Game 2, with seven coming in the third quarter.
Daigneault said playing Hartenstein for just 12 minutes in Game 1 “didn’t feel good.” Hartenstein was a key to Oklahoma City’s efforts against Wembanyama on Game 2.
Hartenstein picked up his second foul just three minutes into the game but was able to avoid getting too deep into foul trouble and was a big key on both ends of the floor. He finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds in 27 minutes.
“That’s the matchup, and so we decided to start with it,” Daigneault said of Hartenstein opposing Wembanyama.
Hartenstein was especially important in the fourth quarter, when he had four points, eight rebounds and two assists.
Though Wembanyama still put up strong numbers, it was a far cry from his Game 1 dominance.
“He’s changed the dynamic since the first game he’s played,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of Hartenstein. “He’s our physicality and our backbone. He’s our bruiser, sets screens, rebounds for us, physical.”
Gilgeous-Alexander believes the Thunder can’t be complacent as the series heads to San Antonio.
“Tonight wasn’t good enough to win the series,” he said, “and we know that.”
San Antonio limited turnovers during its regular-season meetings with Oklahoma City, helping the Spurs win four out of five.
But without starting point guard De’Aaron Fox, who has missed the first two games of the series with an ankle sprain, San Antonio has struggled in the category.
In Game 2, the Spurs committed 21 turnovers, leading to 27 Thunder points. Castle gave the ball away nine times.
“They do such a good job of showing crowds in the paint, having multiple bodies,” San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said. “It’s not just Steph. He had too many turnovers, but our whole team did.”
The Spurs also lost rookie guard Dylan Harper, who was also critical in Game 1, to a right leg injury. Harper exited the game just past the midpoint of the third quarter.
Wembanyama said the Spurs needed to be better all around without Fox and Harper.
“We’ve got to help our ball-handlers more (to) take care of the ball,” Wembanyama said.
Williams, who was limited to 33 games in the regular season due to a string of injuries, left the game late in the first quarter after experiencing left hamstring tightness.
Williams had missed six consecutive games due to a left hamstring injury before returning on Monday for the series opener.
Daigneault didn’t have much of an update on Williams afterward.
“He’ll get checked out in the morning. We’ll see where he’s at,” the coach said.
–Field Level Media
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