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Top Scorers Comparison
Points scored by key players in the Thunder vs Spurs match
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Gilgeous-Alexander leads Thunder past Spurs for 2-1 NBA playoff lead
Reigning NBA champions see four members of their bench finish in double figures to set up the precious road win.Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder survived an early onslaught to score a 123-108 victory over the San Antonio Spurs and take a 2-1 lead in their NBA Western Conference Finals series.Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander led another dominant all-around offensive performance on Friday by the reigning NBA champions, who saw four members of their bench finish in double figures to set up the precious road win.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Five key talking points for the Premier League season finalelist 2 of 4From Palestine to Catalonia, Guardiola believed in more than just footballlist 3 of 4US says DRC team must isolate due to Ebola before arriving for World Cuplist 4 of 4Players accuse Grand Slams of ignoring concerns as tensions rise in Parisend of listJared McCain led the Thunder bench scorers with 24 points while Jaylin Williams drained five three-pointers in an 18-point contribution.French player Victor Wembanyama led the San Antonio scoring with 26 points, while Devin Vassell added 20.Thunder coach Mark Daigneault praised his team’s “poise” after climbing out of an early 15-point deficit to eventually close out a convincing win by the same margin.“It was a punch – credit to them,” Daigneault said of San Antonio’s fast start. “They were ready to play and they got us early. But I thought we showed great poise to understand the 48-minute nature of the game.“It’s a long game obviously and the bench gave us a huge lift right there to help us get the game into a manageable spot. Great poise by the team.”Another pulsating clash between the Western Conference rivals got off to a breathless start, with the Spurs roaring into a 15-0 lead within minutes of tip-off.A shellshocked Thunder lineup quickly regrouped and punched back to close the gap to 31-29 early in the second quarter before a brilliant Gilgeous-Alexander three-pointer handed the visitors the lead.Oklahoma City then pulled into a 58-51 lead at the break after outscoring San Antonio 32-20 in the second quarter, thanks to 10 points apiece from Ajay Mitchell and Alex Caruso.The intensity which had simmered throughout the opening two games of the series then boiled over early in the third quarter, when Mitchell pushed Stephon Castle as the Spurs guard leapt for a basket.Castle skidded off the court while teammate Devin Vassell got...
Gilgeous-Alexander leads Thunder past Spurs for 2-1 lead
(Alex Slitz/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP)Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder survived an early onslaught to score a 123-108 victory over the San Antonio Spurs and take a 2-1 lead in their NBA Western Conference Finals series on Friday.Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander led another dominant all-round offensive performance by the reigning NBA champions, who saw four members of their bench finish in double figures to set up the precious road win.AdvertisementJared McCain led the Thunder bench scorers with 24 points while Jaylin Williams drained five three-pointers in an 18-point contribution.French star Victor Wembanyama led the San Antonio scoring with 26 points, while Devin Vassell added 20.Thunder coach Mark Daigneault praised his team's "poise" after climbing out of an early 15-point deficit to eventually close out a convincing win by the same margin."It was a punch -- credit to them," Daigneault said of San Antonio's fast start. "They were ready to play and they got us early. But I thought we showed great poise to understand the 48-minute nature of the game.Advertisement"It's a long game obviously and the bench gave us a huge lift right there to to help us get the game into a manageable spot. Great poise by the team."Another pulsating clash between the Western Conference rivals got off to a breathless start, with the Spurs roaring into a 15-0 lead within minutes of tip-off.A shellshocked Thunder line-up quickly regrouped and punched back to close the gap to 31-29 early in the second quarter before a brilliant Gilgeous-Alexander three-pointer handed the visitors the lead.Oklahoma City then pulled into a 58-51 lead at the break after outscoring San Antonio 32-20 in the second quarter thanks to 10 points apiece from Ajay Mitchell and Alex Caruso.AdvertisementThe intensity which had simmered throughout the opening two games of the series then boiled over early in the third quarter, when Mitchell pushed Stephon Castle as the Spurs guard leapt for a basket.Castle skidded off court while team-mate Devin Vassell then got into a shoving match with Mitchell, triggering a melee.By that stage Oklahoma City had built a 10-point to lead 67-57, and they kept the pressure on to lead 95-84 heading into the fourth quarter.The points kept flowing in the fourth and the Thunder maintained their comfortable advantage to close out the win."We were really sharp to start the game and obviously we didn't susta...
Gilgeous-Alexander, bench propel Thunder past Spurs 123-108 after ...
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 26 points and 12 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder climbed out of a 15-point hole minutes into the game to beat the San Antonio Spurs 123-108 on Friday night and take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.Jared McCain had 24 points and Jaylin Williams added 18 for Oklahoma City. The Thunder were without Jalen Williams, who sat out with left hamstring soreness.Oklahoma City’s bench outscored San Antonio’s 76-23, including 15 points by Alex Caruso.“We just went out there and competed,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They obviously jumped on us early. First game in their building, their crowd behind them, they were excited to play. We just wanted to make sure we competed from that point on. We obviously didn’t give our best effort to start that game, but can’t do nothing about it. It’s behind us. All we can do is focus on the next possession, and we did that.”Victor Wembanyama had 24 points for San Antonio. Devin Vassell added 20 and De'Aaron Fox had 15 in his series debut.The Thunder have won two straight after the Spurs' double-overtime victory in Game 1. Game 4 is Sunday.Fox (sprained right ankle) and Dylan Harper (right adductor soreness) were cleared to play 45 minutes prior to tipoff.Fox's return sparked a historic start.The Spurs raced to a 15-0 lead, the longest run to open a game in the conference finals since the play-by-play era began in 1997.Fox opened the run by wrapping in a driving layup and Wembanyama followed by crossing over Isaiah Hartenstein to drill a 3-pointer. Vassell’s 3-pointer put the Spurs up 10-0, leading to an early timeout by Thunder coach Mark Daigneault.“Other than the first 15 points, our defense was really tight,” Daigneault said. “We got back, settled down into the halfcourt. Our offense had something to do with that. We ran good offense tonight, despite the fact that they were amped up and ready to go, the Spurs were. It’s a discipline series. We did that. We couldn’t be reckless against them, they are too good with the ball, too well coached, too talented. So you’ve got to be able to do it with discipline. I thought we really were disciplined tonight.”Isaiah Hartenstein broke the drought with a runner over Wembanyama, but the center was immediately greeted with thunderous boos after his physical play against the Spurs in Game 2.The Thunder went on a 13-2 run when Wembanyama went to the bench and closed the first quarter trailing 31-26.It was a pattern the Spurs could not...
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder bench power Oklahoma City past Spurs ...
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered another standout playoff performance with 26 points and 12 assists as the Oklahoma City Thunder erased an early 15-point deficit to defeat the San Antonio Spurs 123-108 on Friday night, taking a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals. Jared McCain added 24 points and Jaylin Williams chipped in 18, while the Thunder were also boosted by a dominant bench ...
