The arena was amped, the fans were in their seats early, but the San Antonio Spurs laid a dud in the first half and could never recover as they suffered a 116-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Frost Bank Center on Tuesday night.
San Antonio shot just 29 percent in the first half, including a dismal 31 percent from three-point range in the opening 12 minutes. The Spurs began the second half on a 14-3 run to cut a 26-point deficit to just seven points, but turnovers and mistakes would halt
their momentum as Oklahoma City built up their lead back to 15 points later in the period.
Victor Wembanyama suffered his worst shooting performance of his young career, finishing with 12 points on 1-13 shooting (7%) and 13 rebounds. After the game, Head Coach Mitch Johnson declined to cast blame solely on his star player.
“I think everybody struggled pretty equally,” Johnson said when asked about Wembanyama’s performance. “I know his field goal [percentage] will stand out, but we all participated in that one.”
Johnson said his team did not come out firing as expected, saying the Spurs may have been a bit excited and could not properly channel that energy when needed.
“It didn’t feel very connected,” he said. “Execution wasn’t very good, and I thought we competed and played hard, just didn’t feel like we put our energy in the right places.
Stephon Castle, who led the Spurs with 24 points on 9-for-20 shooting, agreed with his coach’s assessment of the game.
“I think that we got excited with shots,” Castle said of the offensive struggles. “We were taking the first one instead of making them work on defense and finding a better shot.”
Despite Johnson not wanting it to stick, Wembanyama’s poor night was the highlight of the evening. Last season, he averaged 18.4 points per game during the regular season against the Thunder. After the game, the Spurs’ big man admitted he did not feel like himself for most of the night.
“I need to go back to playing the basketball I like,” Wembanyama said. “This is not the sport I like right here. I’ve got no reason to be hesitant, no reason to not be myself. I’m good when I have fun. I missed a lot of shots I usually don’t miss. But after that, I didn’t go back to these shots, and I wasn’t decisive. I might be overthinking it. I don’t need to do more. I need to think less probably.”
Wemby added that he did not feel like himself, and when asked he said “for many reasons” but did not go into it.
Oklahoma City’s defense was a tough nut to crack for the Spurs, but their offense was led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 32 points on 48 percent shooting from the floor. Jared McCain added 20 points, including going 6-for-8 from deep. Chet Holmgren rebounded from a poor Western Conference Finals to score 14 points and pull down seven boards.
With Wembanyama struggling, the Spurs’ three-guard lineup trio of Castle, De’Aaron Fox, and Dylan Harper combined for 56 of San Antonio’s 104 points on the night. Devin Vassell had a poor night with seven points on 25 percent shooting.
“We can’t get away with these type of mistakes against a team like this,” Wembanyama said.
With one game down and 81 left to play, the Spurs will hope that their clunker will be behind them early, and they can learn and move on. Who waits for them next? Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets in Austin on Friday night.
“It’s good to get the first one (bad game) out of the way,” Johnson said. “Got a lot of tape to look at and learn from.”
Game Notes
- Despite the loss, the Spurs fans made the Frost Bank Center feel like Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals all over again. It was loud from the opening tip and when the Spurs made their second half comeback attempt. Nice job, Spurs faithful!
- Dylan Harper hobbled over to the bench in the second half after grimacing, but was only out for a few moments before returning to finish the game.
- Carter Bryant had a few moments where he shined and others where he still is showing some growing pains. This will be a big season for the second year player and he’s one I am keeping my eye on as the season goes on.
- I know fans may overreact to this game, but breathe. Let’s see how the team responds to the loss in Austin on Friday.
