Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 30 factors and added 9 assists, and the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 122-113 in Sport 2 of the Western Convention finals Wednesday, tying the collection at 1-1.
The Thunder overcame the lack of Jalen Williams, who exited the sport after rejoining the Thunder’s lineup in Sport 1 for the primary time because the first spherical of the playoffs. Alex Caruso scored 17 factors to steer 4 Thunder bench gamers in double-digit scoring. Isaiah Hartenstein added 10 factors and 13 rebounds for Oklahoma Metropolis.
Stephon Fortress scored a team-high 25 factors and had eight assists for the Spurs, however he turned it over 9 occasions after a franchise playoff-record 11 turnovers in Sport 1. Victor Wembanyama scored 21 factors and added 17 rebounds, six assists and 4 blocked pictures within the loss.
The Spurs additionally noticed rookie guard Dylan Harper exit the sport with an harm.
Listed below are some takeaways with Sport 3 set for Friday evening in San Antonio.
Hartenstein will get double-double, frustrates Wemby
Hartenstein performed 12 minutes in a double-overtime sport two nights in the past. He greater than doubled these minutes Wednesday, and proved infinitely extra impactful.
In Wednesday’s win for the Thunder, he snagged eight offensive rebounds, one fewer than Oklahoma Metropolis collected as a workforce on Monday. He pushed Wembanyama, a galactic menace inside 10 ft, farther from the rim. He matched physicality. He set bruising screens. He prolonged possessions.
Greater than something, he made successful performs and proved to be playable after showing questionable in Sport 1. He gave Wembanyama an impediment, which beforehand appeared like a prayer. — Joel Lorenzi, Thunder author
Spurs coping with accidents at guard play
The Spurs want their guards to win this collection. They’re down two of them and couldn’t maintain their offense constant sufficient to maintain up with SGA on Wednesday.
Profitable Sport 1 was a large enough series-shifter to nonetheless be in a great place to advance ultimately, however they’ll want no less than one in every of Harper or De’Aaron Fox to do it. The information on Harper’s leg continues to be to be decided, however the Spurs are reliant upon all their guards to open issues up for Wembanyama. That may’t occur if it’s simply Fortress on the market.
The Spurs had their second 20-turnover sport of this collection, one thing they’d solely performed as soon as since mid-November. Their offense already was struggling to run easily with out Fox, who has been their metronome and palate cleanser when issues get messy. Fortress had 11 turnovers, with an important dangerous cross to an open Julian Champagnie within the closing minute placing an finish to a Spurs comeback try.
San Antonio performed properly on this sport, however they couldn’t deal with Hartenstein’s rebounding within the fourth quarter, they usually wanted to search out some extra artistic methods to get Wembanyama the ball within the fourth quarter. He had one good play when he bought a defensive rebound after which sprinted down the ground to get a post-up on Hartenstein and rating. However when Hartenstein stored dominating the offensive glass, the Spurs couldn’t get out in transition and create the straightforward buckets they wanted. — Jared Weiss, Spurs author
SGA delivers one other MVP efficiency
Victor Wembanyama may’ve seethed whereas Shai Gilgeous-Alexander obtained the MVP trophy earlier than Sport 1 Monday, however on Wednesday, he bought a front-row seat to see why the guard earned it.
With the Spurs’ protection bending in the direction of him with each dribble, Gilgeous-Alexander one way or the other managed to search out sufficient house sufficient occasions. His ultimate jumper, to extinguish the Spurs late-game run, ended with a refined fist pump. It was his twenty ninth and thirtieth factors of the sport on 12-of-24 taking pictures.
His 9 assists, his two blocks, his lone turnover — the totality of all of it — was consultant of the type of all-around effectivity the two-time MVP hits extra nights than not. — Dan Woike, senior author
Turnovers plaguing Fortress, overshadowing offensive effort
Twenty turnovers. That’s what number of miscues Stephon Fortress had in two video games in Oklahoma Metropolis this week. It’s an NBA report for consecutive playoff video games.
it additionally took the shine off some electrical moments from the Spurs’ second-year professional, whose team-high 25 factors included a surprising poster dunk of Thunder heart Isaiah Hartenstein within the second quarter that precipitated even the partisan crowd right here to “Ooooooohhhhh!” in awe.
The way in which Oklahoma Metropolis beats groups is that they make them flip the ball over, they usually don’t give it away. The Thunder compelled 21 turnovers in a slim defeat in Sport 1, 21 extra in Sport 2, however solely dedicated 10 themselves in night the collection tonight.
These 11 additional possessions had been primarily the story of the sport, on an evening the Spurs outshot the Thunder from the sphere, from 3 and from the road.
Current occasions solely places an even bigger magnifying glass on the Spurs’ errors, and particularly Fortress. With De’Aaron Fox out for the primary two video games and Dylan Harper exiting within the third quarter with an harm of his personal, and with the tail finish of San Antonio’s bench providing little help (tiny journeyman Jordan McLaughlin is the one different ballhandling choice for a membership that bizarrely rosters 5 facilities), Fortress should be sharper and safer for the Spurs to prevail because the collection heads to San Antonio. — John Hollinger, senior author