Thunder's dominant win over Spurs silences doubters, reasserting their apex predator status and boosting championship confidence.
After a string of recent losses to the Spurs, the Thunder finally got its revenge in the fourth installment by winning 119-98. Victor Wembanyama came out with a grin and attacked Chet Holmgren out of the gate with a vicious dunk. The slam set the tone, and Oklahoma City responded by playing 48 minutes of intense basketball like it was the playoffs.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 34 points, five rebounds, five assists and four blocks, while Jalen Williams scored 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field. The Thunder’s bench also shined. Jaylin Williams contributed 11 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and a pair of blocks. Ajay Mitchell and Alex Caruso’s fingerprints were all over the game, too.
Overall, it was a physical, chippy game. Bodies hit the floor, and Wembanyama especially received plenty of punishment. His demeanor quickly flipped from confident to hesitant. Although the rough and tumble days of the 1980s are long gone, the contest was essentially a watered down modern version of Kevin McHale and Rick Mahorn going at each other during the gladiator fights between Boston and Detroit. Even Gilgeous-Alexander shed his calm demeanor and taunted Stephon Castle.
During his post-game interview, Gilgeous-Alexander said the following: “Now from here on it’s just about getting better. Tonight wasn’t our Super Bowl. It wasn’t anything else but another game in an 82-game season.”
Granted, Oklahoma City is the reigning champs and focused on repeating. Gilgeous-Alexander is correct that a lone regular season result does not change the team’s outlook or goals. The victory over the Spurs will show up as a win on the schedule just like any other game.
However, Gilgeous-Alexander underrated the importance of last night’s victory. It may count the same, but it does not weigh the same.
San Antonio was becoming too comfortable in its belief that it could take down Oklahoma City in a playoff series. And this belief about the Thunder’s mortality was spreading like wildfire across the association and media. Gilgeous-Alexander and company flexing its muscles and reminding the national audience that Oklahoma City remains the apex predator is extremely important because of the psychological benefits.
For example, opponents truly believing that the Thunder is a hyper-dominant team seemingly destined to repeat means that they are already mentally losing before tipoff. On the flip side, Oklahoma City brimming with confidence (not arrogance or sloppiness) means it will trust each other and play basketball at a very high level.
The Thunder notched its 34th win of the season, but it was the most important victory so far.