Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Leads Disciplined Thunder Effort as Spurs Struggle with Turnovers and Bench Production
I came into this Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder thinking the Spurs had the better team despite how much the two teams mirror one another.
On paper the teams matchup well. Both squads score and defend at an above average clip, have depth, and have an MVP level superstar.
Yes the Oklahoma City Thunder are the defending champs and the slightly more experienced team, but I still felt the Spurs were the better team. Mainly because of V-Dub’s impact on the floor but more importantly the Spurs I believed held the mental edge over the Thunder. The Spurs handled the Thunder 4-1 during the regular season and most of those games weren’t even close. Despite what people say about the significance of the regular season, when you can defeat a team four out of five times, the team on the losing end has to at some point question its ability to be successful.
SGA said as much in his post game comments following OKC’s 117-102 Christmas Day home loss to the Spurs, their third consecutive loss in the regular season series.
“You don’t lose to a team three times in a row in a short span without them being better than you,” Gilgeous-Alexander said following the game. “We have to get better, look in the mirror, and that’s everybody from top to bottom.”
The Spurs were living rent free in the heads of the Thunder players.
That dynamic has changed following last night’s Game 3 home loss 123-108. Not only have they reclaimed home court advantage, but they’ve reclaimed the mental edge as well. The Defending Champs know they can beat the Spurs.
Two-time and reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 26 points and 12 assists to lead the Thunder who trailed the Spurs 15-0 to start the game.
The 15-0 start for the Spurs was the longest run to open a game in the conference finals since the play-by-play era began in 1997.
“We just went out there and competed,” Gilgeous-Alexander said following the game. “They obviously jumped on us early. First game in their building, their crowd behind them, they were excited to play. We just wanted to make sure we competed from that point on. We obviously didn’t give our best effort to start that game, but can’t do nothing about it. It’s behind us. All we can do is focus on the next possession, and we did that.”
Despite stealing Game 1 on the road, turnovers continue to be a topic of conversation surrounding the Spurs in this series.
Coming into Game 3 the team had a combined 42 turnovers with 20 being attributed to Stephon Castle alone. While down from Game 2, the Silver and Black committed 15 turnovers and gave up 20 points off of them in the Game 3 loss.
V-Dub was again held in check and finished with 24 points, four rebounds, and three assists. He had only five shot attempts in the first half. He did have two blocks as well.
Devin Vassell added 20 and De’Aaron Fox had 15 points in his series debut following missing the first two games with ankle soreness. Stephon Castle finished with 15 points and seven dimes and more importantly, just one turnover.
Another factor in this series has been bench points. The Spurs’ bench has been virtually nonexistent. Keldon Johnson; this year’s Sixth Man of the Year, is averaging just nine points on 35% from the field in the Finals. That’s down from his regular season averages of 13 points on 52 % from the field.
Oklahoma City’s bench outscored San Antonio’s 76-23 in Game 3 and have outscored them 183-64 in the series thus far.
Jared McCain had 24 points, Jaylin Williams added 18, and Alex Caruso had 15 points for Oklahoma City all off the bench. The Thunder were again without Jalen Williams, who sat out with left hamstring soreness.
The Spurs will look to even the series at two games apiece at home in Game 4 while the Thunder improve to 5-0 on the road in the postseason. Despite trailing in the series, the Spurs know what’s at stake.
“It’s my first playoffs,” V-Dub said. “It’s the first playoffs for many of us. Of course, there was going to be hard trials. It’s to be expected, but now we’re going to see what we’re made of.”
Up Next:
Game 4 @ San Antonio
Sunday, 5/24 @ 700pm
NBC/Peacock
OKC leads 2-1
