Thunder 122, Spurs 113: The Day After Report
Series tied 1-1
PHOTOS⚡THUNDER | NBA Play-by-Play | CourtSketch Box Score
Postgame Bolts
- Isaiah Hartenstein, to the surprise and maybe chagrin of many was in the starting lineup, and he played Wemby incredibly physically from the tip. Big difference from Game 1's early minutes.
- Alex Caruso got a huge ovation when he checked in. As you do for a role player that just scored 31 points in Game 1.
- J-Will checks in. J-Will hits OKC's first 3.
- Refs called an offensive foul on Wemby. Really, I saw it with my own eyes.
- Thunder started much better in Game 2 than Game 1. Offense came much easier. Limited Wemby to only 3 points, 1 rebound and 2 turnovers. And somehow...
- Game 1 after the 1st quarter: 29-29
- Game 2 after the 1st quarter: 31-31
- Couple tough breaks for Chet in the 1st quarter. He had a 3 pointer changed to a 2 after review. Then he splashed a jumper that came just after a shot clock buzzer.
- Thunder lost the opening minutes of the 2nd quarter by 7 points in Game 1 and they proved to be critical. Thunder outscored the Spurs 7-0 to start the 2nd quarter in Game 2.
- Alex Caruso just does not care if Wemby is there or not; he's shooting it. This dude gives up a foot to the DPOY and hit a fadeaway middy over him.
- Both teams fought hard every possession. But in a physical game, OKC was the aggressor.
- There was a 4-car pile up in the middle of the court. Spurs came away with the ball, but Cason Wallace forced an immediate turnover. Led to an SGA slam.
- Seeing some "OKC is grabbing Wemby" discourse on social media. I'd encourage anyone saying that to watch how the Spurs are defending SGA.
- Cason Wallace started the 2nd half after Jalen Williams left with hamstring tightness.
- Just an absolute bummer for JDub, who has fought injuries all season, looks excellent every time he returns and then gets hurt again. Hopefully we see Jalen again this series, but it's hard to be optimistic about it. OKC can handle the Suns and Lakers of the NBA without him, but it's a much tougher task to beat the Spurs without JDub.
- Chet Holmgren caught a Dylan Harper elbow to the head. Foul on Chet.
- Harper also exited the game in the second half with a leg injury.
- The injury report for Game 3 is going to be massive.
- Chet Holmgren's huge slam on Kornet put OKC up double digits and got one of the biggest Loud City pops of the night.
- Putting a player in a blender is too often used when defenders stumble a bit or lose their footing. Then there's what SGA did to Carter Bryant. The back to back MVP actually had the rookie spinning.
- OKC was up 8 points to start the 4th quarter. Then quickly lost the first 3 minutes of the final frame with SGA on the bench to the tune of 9-3. SGA came back and the Thunder quickly bumped the lead back up to double digits.
- Jared McCain got one of the all time shooter's rolls you'll ever see.
- Shout out to sections 314 and 315 for starting the Alex Caruso MVP chants. He has earned them.
- Caruso continues to be OKC's playoff X factor. 17 points, 5 assists and 3-4 from deep.
- Isaiah Hartenstein had 10 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and played excellent defense all night on Wemby. Hartenstein, in fact, is very playable in this series.
- Hartenstein pulled a JDub and went into the Thunder crowd to hype them up.
- Speaking of, Loud City has taken their volume game to an 11 in the Western Conference Finals.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a clutch dagger jumper to put OKC up 120-113 and ice the game.
- SGA was outstanding in Game 2. 30 PTS / 12-24 FG / 6-6 FT / 4 REB / 9 AST / 1 TO (on an offensive foul) / 1 STL / 2 BLK / +14
- So is SGA the best player in the world again? At least until Game 3 is decided and then we hand the belt over to whoever wins that one all willy nilly?
- Cason Wallace had a Fantastic Four game. Caso had 4 three pointers, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.
- The team that shot better from 3 so far in this series is 0-2 as we all expected.
One Key Takeaway: Getting the W, Losing JDub
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