The mountain gave birth to a mouse in Oklahoma City…
If we expected a lot from this first duel between Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, we were especially treated to a show from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (28 points, 7 interceptions, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) and his Thunder troop who had everything simply crushed Spurs in free fall (123-87), who conceded a sixth defeat in a row.
The Thunder began to pull away in the second quarter, trailing by as many as 21 in the third, when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey combined for 23 of their team’s 33 points, at 13 and 10. respectively ! In addition to SGA, Oklahoma City was actually able to count on 18 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists from Josh Giddey and 11 points from Jalen Williams (all in the first half).
In the duel of the young giants, Chet Holmgren finished at 9 points and 7 rebounds when Victor Wembanyama finished at 8 points and 14 rebounds, both being in a complicated evening on shots, the first at 3/10 including 1 /5 at 3-points and the second at 4/15 on shots including 0/3 from distance.
In any case, this end of the match without pressure allowed Mark Daigneault to rotate his squad and open his bench widely, which benefited Vassilije Micic (8 points, 4 assists in 19 minutes), the former Serbian leader. Euroleague MVP who hadn’t played for four games!
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The Wemby – Holmgren duel did not take place. Apart from a nice dribble behind the back to put him in the wind before finishing with a dunk after staggered presses in the first quarter, or a counter from behind in the fourth quarter, Victor Wembanyama was ultimately not much opposed to CHet Holmgren. The two men were in any case particularly clumsy, at 3/10 for the Thunder and 4/15 for the Spur. Like his 5 lost balls, the tricolor unicorn overused his dribbling at the head of the racket, before being dispossessed of the leather! Or even ending up lying on the ground after a blow to the face from Isaiah Joe…
– A franchise record for interceptions for OKC. 19 is the new franchise record established last night by the Thunder. Oklahoma City took full advantage of these 25 balls lost by the Spurs, scoring 23 points. SGA was the most active in this department with 7 interceptions, a career high for the All-Star.
– Spurs already freewheeling? With this second loss of 30 points (or more), the Spurs became the first franchise since the poor Nuggets of 1990-91 to suffer two spankings of such magnitude in their first eleven games. If we know that San Antonio would not be against a new high choice in the next Draft, be careful not to abandon the season too quickly, and waste another year in Texas.
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
