By Paris Lawson | Broadcast and Digital Reporter | okcthunder.com
The Thunder put up a relentless fight in its series finale against San Antonio. With every punch the Spurs threw OKC’s way, the team responded and rallied to force a crunch-time battle in the final moments. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lit up the scoreboard, Darius Bazley continued his high-scoring streak and the Thunder bench stepped up in the clutch to make it an entertaining game in the Alamo. Ultimately San Antonio outlasted the Thunder at the final buzzer to narrowly escape with a 122-120 win.
San Antonio had control in the first half, but the Thunder took over the second. In the locker room at half time, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault challenged his group to shift the momentum in the next two frames by limiting fouls and playing to its defensive identity.
The Thunder responded in a big way. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 20 points in the third and the Thunder bench came up with big play after big play to reel in what was a 16-point deficit. After falling behind by as many as 16 points in the first half, the Thunder outscored the Spurs 64-54 in the second half to force a tightly contested finish.
“I thought we did a great job coming out of halftime,” said Daigneault. “I thought it was really important that we stabilize the game coming out of there.”
It was Aleksej Pokuševski who came up with two of the biggest defensive plays of the night. The second year forward answered a moment of truth opportunity with 49 seconds left in the game. San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson burst out on a fast break opportunity with every intention of emphatically slamming the ball through the rim to extend San Antonio’s lead to three points. Pokuševski rose with Johnson at the basket and disrupted his look just enough to force a missed basket.
“I was like, ‘We need a stop so I’m going to do whatever I can to just get a stop,” said Pokuševski.
On the very next play, the 7-footer found himself matched with San Antonio’s leading scorer Dejounte Murray. Using his length and discipline, Pokuševski kept Murray in front and forced him to shoot over a high-contested hand which led to a missed basket. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came up with the loose change on that miss and zipped an outlet pass down the floor to none other than Poku who laid up the ball to give the Thunder a one-point lead with 4.8 seconds left in the ball game.
Gregg Popovich called a timeout to draw up a play and advance the ball. Lonnie Walker IV received the ball on the inbounds pass and drew the attention of two Thunder defenders. After a couple of dribbles, Walker elevated from behind the arc for a fading 3-pointer that fell through the rim to give San Antonio a 122-120 lead with 1.3 seconds left.
The Thunder called a timeout with an opportunity to answer on the other end of the floor, but the shot attempt was deflected at the buzzer to seal San Antonio’s narrow victory.
“I thought we made the right place physically at the basket,” said Daigneault. “We were one play away, but put ourselves in really good position.”
“I thought we were able to just hang in there,” said Thunder forward Darius Bazley. “It came down to one possession and we were one possession away. The game could have gone either way. There are a lot of mistakes in between but that’s basketball. There’s gonna be a mistakes. But I thought the comeback was good.”
The Thunder’s second unit contributed 39 points and massive plays when it counted. In the early going of the fourth quarter, the Thunder caught fire from behind the 3-point line thanks to rookies Olivier Sarr and Vít Krejčí who each sank two in the quarter. Théo Maledon dished out a season-high eight assists which led directly to 22 points.
In addition to his massive defensive efforts, Pokuševski led OKC’s bench with 16 points on an efficient 5-of-7 from the field. The Serbian forward also logged a career-high in free throw attempts and makes including three clutch free throws with under three minutes left in the ball game.
“I think the beginning of the fourth quarter, the five guys that were on the court did a great job,” said Pokuševski. “They played with great energy. They made shots and they got us back into the game. I think those guys are doing a great job of playing their minutes pretty good and I’m happy for them.”
A massive reason for the Thunder’s shift in momentum in the third quarter was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The fourth-year guard could not be stopped coming out of halftime.
Gilgeous-Alexander erupted for 20 points in the third frame going a perfect 9-for-9 from the field. He sank bucket after bucket in the midrange using a series of crafty, side steps and step backs to shed his defender.
After a step back jumper in transition, Popovich was forced to call a timeout to recalibrate to the superstar’s raging offense. From that point on, the Spurs engaged a box-and-one defense to limit SGA, but the point guard continued to play with in the flow of the offense, just getting his teammates involved on drive and kick opportunities.
By the end of the night, SGA finished with a game high 34 points marking his third straight game with 30 or more points and the ninth out of the last 11.
“I felt good,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “Coach said coming out of half that we have to try to change the momentum of the game. We’re down 12 and that’s what I tried to do – focus on changing momentum. Play with energy and trying to play fast.”
“I can’t speak for everybody else, but it got me going,” said Bazley. “Just made me want to get stops and offensively, it just made me want to be aggressive and knock down shots, make whatever play I have to. He was huge for us
Thunder forward Darius Bazley continued his offensive tear as he racked up his third consecutive game with at least 25 points – the longest such streak of his career. The forward went 9-of-16 from the field while also knocking down four 3-pointers and pulling down nine rebounds.
“He’s comfortable and he’s playing with confidence,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “I think when you’re as gifted as he is athletically and talented as he is, if you do those two things, you’ll be alright. And that’s what you guys are seeing.”
“It was fun. We had to battle all night. We were down for most of the game and it’s a testament to our fight and our will to just play basketball and try to compete.”
—Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the fun battle
Darius Bazley on the mentality required when teams keep throwing punches…
“When a team is just constantly throwing punches, everybody’s got to be rolling. Everyone’s got to have a mindset of ‘so what?’ and ‘what else?’ Just keep it coming.
The Thunder’s three-game road trip continues in the Sunshine State where the team will face the Miami Heat on Friday and the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
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