4 takeaways: Thunder draw even with Spurs on prime SGA effort

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was able to find cracks in the Spurs’ defense in Game 2.

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OKLAHOMA CITY –

Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault brings the proper perspective to a playoff series.

“Ultimately, my job is to keep the team present and to help the team find the next solution,” he said. “And I can’t do that if I’m drunk on emotion, win or lose. So I try to really discipline myself to do that so that I can do my job as well as I can.”

Taking the long view that a series isn’t won or lost after Game 1, Daigneault focused on fundamentals and adjusted for Game 2 of the

Western Conference Finals

against the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday.

The result?

Thunder 122, Spurs 113.

The Thunder put Game 1’s double-overtime loss behind them and found solutions, and it’s now a 1-1 series.

Oklahoma City improved its offensive execution and defensive focus game over game, limited Victor Wembanyama to a really good game instead of a historic one, received better performances from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and big men Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein and relied on its trademark depth.

Game 3 is Friday in San Antonio

(

8:30 ET, NBC/Peacock

), and injuries to key players will be a focal point headed into that game. Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams missed the final three quarters with

left hamstring tightness

, and San Antonio’s Dylan Harper left the game with a

right leg injury

at 4:50 of the third quarter and did not return.

Spurs starter De’Aaron Fox didn’t play because of a right ankle injury and will be a gametime decision throughout the series.

1. Gilgeous-Alexander finds his MVP form

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who earned his second consecutive Kia MVP award Sunday, wasn’t at his best in Game 1, and he acknowledged that.

He returned to MVP SGA in Game 2: 30 points on 12-for-24 shooting, nine assists, four rebounds, two blocks, one steal and just one turnover.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 11 points in the second quarter, nine in the third and after the Spurs trimmed the Thunder’s lead to five points, his 19-foot jump shot with 42.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter pushed the score to 120-113.

He probed for cracks in San Antonio’s defense, trying to find his spots where he can unleash his midrange game. He was solid with the pass, and that was contagious. The Thunder had 34 assists on 45 made field goals, and 10 players had at least one assist.

“We just did a better job of attacking them,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “In the first game, I still feel like we got really good looks. They just didn’t go down. We just got a little bit more comfortable with their type of defense. Obviously, it’s very unique and different from literally every other defense in the league so it takes a game to get used to.

“But we’re still going to have to keep getting better throughout this series if we want a chance to win the series. Really good team, good defensive team. They check all the boxes. We’re going to have to continue to get better. Tonight wasn’t good enough to win the series, and we know that.”

2. Thunder bigs solid enough against Wembanyama

Victor Wembanyama didn’t dominate in Game 2 the way he did in Game 1. But he was still impressive with 21 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and four blocks. He was 8-for-16 from the field, including 3-for-7 on 3-pointers.

However, Wembanyama didn’t have his way in the paint the way he did in Game 1. He had 10 points in the paint in Game 2 after scoring 26 in the paint in the opener.

That’s a credit to Oklahoma City’s defensive game plan. Oklahoma City’s Alex Caruso spent significant minutes defending Wembanyama Monday, and Isaiah Hartenstein got that assignment Wednesday.

Daigneault didn’t feel great about playing Hartenstein just 12 minutes in Game 1 and determined Hartenstein’s size (7-foot, 267 pounds) would make it tougher on the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama especially at the rim.

“That’s kind of my game, just being physical,” Hartenstein said. “Last game, they were more physical than us and so I just wanted to establish that early. Again, he’s a great player. He’s going to get to certain things, but you just have to make it as hard as possible, and I think I did a solid job.”

Hartenstein’s effort was crucial to the Thunder’s victory. He contributed 10 points, 13 rebounds (eight on the offensive end). Chet Holmgren added 13 points and four rebounds. It was a much-needed effort from the Thunder’s big men.

The Thunder also kept Wembanyama off the free throw line – just two attempts following 13 free-throw attempts in Game 1.

3. Caruso, Thunder depth on display

Thunder reserve Alex Caruso once again made an impact with his two-way play. He had 17 points, five assists and was a plus-18 in 25 minutes.

“How I’ve seen him approach this series is how he approaches everything,” Daigneault said. “He’s just got unbelievable focus and he’s just a monster competitor. And it seems like the bigger the moment, the bigger the game, the more he wants to compete in it, and he’ll fail and not blink, and he’ll be aggressive in the next game, next possession.”

Caruso was a part of a Thunder bench effort that outscored San Antonio’s bench 57-25, and the Thunder now have a 107-41 edge in bench points after two games.

Jared McCain and Cason Wallace each scored 12 points, Ajay Mitchell had 10 points, and of Oklahoma City’s 13 3-pointers, 12 were made by reserves, including four from Wallace. Mitchell and Wallace each had four steals.

“Night in, night out, the bench does what the game tells it to do,” Caruso said. “And some nights, it’s a bunch of shots and they’re going in and you just ride with it. I was open so I kept shooting. Tonight, whether it was Ajay, Cason, Jared, myself, (we’re) just trying to be in the right position to take advantage of what the game gives you. And tonight it was to be aggressive offensively.”

4. Turnovers have become an issue for the Spurs

San Antonio committed 21 turnovers leading to 27 Thunder points in Game 2, and it had 23 turnovers in Game 1.

Spurs starter Stephon Castle had a team-high 25 points but also had nine turnovers, giving him 20 turnovers in the series. He had four turnovers in the second quarter.

“It’s more personal on my end, just speeding myself up (and) not allowing our screeners to get hits,” Castle said. “It’s putting me in a position where I have to play fast or my screener might get an offensive foul. I put us at a disadvantage to start the game with those. Some of it comes with fatigue, but at this point of the season, it’s really no excuse.”

In Game 2, the Thunder took 10 more shots – the kind of difference that puts San Antonio at a scoring disadvantage.

“When you’re down some of your primary creators and initiators, it causes a little bit of an extra strain whether that’s who to play, what to play, what to run,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “We’ll just have to be sharper in that area because it’s tough fully loaded against these guys – obviously, 27 points off turnovers is not a winning formula.”

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Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at

jzillgitt@nba.com

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