Thunder beat Spurs in opener, avenging last season’s playoff loss

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 32 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder began their campaign by defeating the San Antonio Spurs 116-104 — the same franchise that crushed their championship repeat hopes a season ago. San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama managed just 12 points while connecting on only 1 of 13 attempts from the floor. That marked his lowest field-goal total since a 2-for-5 outing against Minnesota on May 10. His sole basket came via an alley-oop feed from De'Aaron Fox as the third-quarter clock expired. Wembanyama opened the night by missing his first 12 shots, and 7-foot-3 rookie Aday Mara swatted away one of his alley-oop tries. Jared McCain contributed 20 points, shooting 6 for 8 from beyond the arc, helping Oklahoma City hold the lead for all but the first five minutes.

Rivalry Picks Up Where It Left Off

The Spurs had beaten the Thunder 111-103 in Oklahoma City in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on May 30 in the teams' prior meeting. Nearly five months apart did not cool this heated rivalry. Three minutes into the second quarter, Fox was assessed a Flagrant Foul 1 for throwing Chet Holmgren to the floor after the two became tangled in the paint. The body slam triggered a massive scrum, with Wembanyama and Jaylin Williams needing to be separated after shoving one another. Wembanyama, Williams, Jalen Williams and Kenrich Williams each were hit with a technical for the altercation.

Thunder Pull Away Before Halftime

Oklahoma City answered the dust-up with a 9-0 surge, with Jalen and Kenrich Williams combining for five points. Harrison Barnes' 3-pointer halted that run, but the Thunder fired back with 13 consecutive points, capped by Cason Wallace's 3-pointer, for a 59-33 advantage. Oklahoma City outscored San Antonio 31-16 in the second quarter to carry a 65-44 lead into intermission. The Spurs came out of the break with a 23-9 burst to close within single digits after having trailed by 26 in the first half. Gilgeous-Alexander and McCain delivered when San Antonio drew near, teaming for 25 points after halftime.