Game 15: Underdog Spurs Defeat Thunder for first NBA Cup Win
(1) What went well? (2) Keldon Johnson (3) Harrison Barnes (4) Chris Paul (5) Stephon Castle (6) Charles Bassey
The Setup: Going into Tuesday’s game against the best team out West - the Oklahoma City Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs were 10-point underdogs. The Spurs were without their Top-3 scorers in Victor Wembanyama, Devin Vassell, and Jeremy Sochan. The Thunder were also missing Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Isaiah Joe, but they had the rest of their team available, led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The game was close in the first half, but the Spurs used a 33-20 third quarter to create separation from the Thunder. The Spurs would go on to lead by as many as 21 points, but the Thunder fought back, bringing the Spurs’ lead down to 6 points. In the final minutes, with Oklahoma City inching closer, Chris Paul made a late three that was contested well by Alex Caruso. Zach Collins got an open corner three to fall, and rookie Stephon Castle made a key defensive play, by blocking SGA on the break.
“He’s got great defensive instincts,” said Spurs Acting Head Coach Mitch Johnson of Castle’s block after the game. “You just see him and he makes plays.”
“I didn’t want him to get all the way around me,” said Castle of his block. “I was trailing him, and I was kind of on his side. I didn’t know what side he would go up on but I was just trying not to let him get around me or bump me out of the play so I could go up and contest it. ”
When the dust settled, it was the Spurs who walked off the floor with the 110-104 victory.
With the win, the Spurs improved to 7-8 overall, 6-3 at home, 6-8 vs the Western Conference, and 1-1 against the Thunder. The Spurs also won their first NBA Cup game in franchise history. They’re now 1-1 in West Group B of the NBA Cup, and 2nd in the Group B standings behind the Lakers (1-0).
(1) What went well?
Third Quarter - Entering this game, the third quarter has been the best quarter for the Spurs this season. They’ve had a Top-10 rating on both ends of the floor in the third quarter. They played their best basketball once more after halftime, by using the 33-20 third quarter to help open a large lead, which would eventually help them have enough space to survive the Thunder attempt at a comeback.
Shooting - The Spurs shot well from dunk/layup range (70% accuracy), and on their jump shots. 55% of their shots came from three, where they made 41% of their triples. They outscored the Thunder by 9 points from three. By winning the 3-point line once more, the Spurs are now 6-4 when winning or tying the 3PT line. That’s 86% of their wins. Part of getting good looks from three was the ball movement from the Spurs, with their penetrate-and-kick game. The Spurs had 32 assists on their 39 made shots, giving them a new season best 82% assist percentage.
“I think the biggest thing for us, was just keeping the ball moving,” said Harrison Barnes after the game.
Defense - Just look at all that red above in the Thunder shot table. Near dunk/layup range, even without Wemby, the Thunder struggled to score efficiently near the rim. The Thunder shot well on mid-rangers, but from three, it wasn’t their night. The Thunder had several wide open three point attempts and they struggled to hit even those shots. The Spurs also did a great job defensively of keep OKC off the free throw line, with the Thunder making just 6 free throws, which matches the season low for a Spurs opponent.
“For the majority of the night, from like the second quarter to like the first little bit of the fourth, [the Spurs] had their way offensively and we were going against a set defense going the other way,” said SGA after the game. “It’s always hard going against a set defense every time coming down. So, our offense wasn’t as fluid, obviously because of the defense, albeit we were able to figure out how to get stops late in the game.”
(2) Keldon Johnson - 22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
Keldon entered the game shooting 25.5% from three for the season. That didn’t matter Tuesday, after he tied his career high with 6 threes on 12 attempts. His one made shot at the rim was a highlight play, where he used a crossover to drop his defender, then he went down toward the rim and dunked on SGA for an emphatic dunk.
One possession that exemplified how much Keldon had his shot going tonight was when he used a pump fake, and instead of driving inside, he side-step dribbled to the corner and drilled a three.
“Every game is different, but I think he got some confidence going into the first half,” said Thunder Head Coach Mark Daigneault of Johnson after the game. “I thought we had control of the game. We were up by like 10 [points], and then they got some confidence going and rhythm going. They got us on our heels. He was in the middle of all that. He got some clean looks early to fall, and his confidence lifted as he finished the first half. I thought we did a decent job on him in the second half, but that is when the game started to get away from us a little bit – was during that stretch in the second quarter and he had everything to do with that.”
(3) Harrison Barnes - 20 points, 8 rebounds
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