On November 8, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Thunder played at home against the Spurs. Previously, the Thunder record was 2 wins and 6 losses, and both wins were against the Lakers. The Spurs recorded 3 wins and 6 losses, two wins over the Magic, upset the Bucks, and lost the rest of the games. The two teams met, and in theory, the Spurs had a chance to win, but the game was unexpected. The Spurs opened up a 16-point gap in the first quarter, and the Thunder were very passive throughout the first half, but from the third quarter onwards, the Thunder exploded, winning the Spurs by 20 points in a single quarter, and the Spurs controlled White to the fourth quarter or 0 of 10! In the end, the Thunder defeated the Spurs 99-94 at home, and the Thunder ushered in two consecutive wins.
Stats, on the Spurs side, Johnson had 22 points and 6 rebounds, McDermott 10 points, Ubanks 14 points and 11 rebounds, Murray 10 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, Walker 15 points, Thaddeus Young 10 points and 8 rebounds. On the Thunder side, Muscala had 20 points and 4 rebounds, Alexander 14 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists, Robinson 13 points and 4 rebounds, Beziley 11 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists, and Dort had 13 points and 7 rebounds.
The Spurs blossomed at the start, hitting a 9-0 surge to stop the Thunder under the leadership of Murray and Johnson. The Thunder have since relied on Bezley's empty cut to stop the bleeding, with Ubanks and McDermott helping spurs blossom inside and out, with an easy double-digit point difference. In the second half, Kiddy helped the Thunder chase 5 points in a row, and Alexander broke through to complete the 2+1, but the Spurs, led by Walker and Thady Young, played another wave of 10-0 climax, and the Thunder's Jerome stopped bleeding at the end of the quarter, and the Spurs 28-14 Thunder in the first quarter. Back in the second quarter, Favors and Jerome helped the Thunder narrow the gap, after which Jerome hit another three points, but Spurs Yubanks and Johnson responded in time. Muscala burst out in the middle and hit three consecutive three-pointers to help the Thunder close the gap, but Murray steals counter-attack assist Vasell's dunk + jump shot hit, and the Spurs stabilized the situation. Dort hit a whistle-pressing three-pointer at the end of the quarter, and at the end of the half, the Spurs made it 55-45 to the Thunder.
Back in the third quarter, Robinson helped the Thunder chase 5 points in a row, Beziley completed a dunk, the Spurs' offensive efficiency declined in the middle, and Alexander combined with Robinson and Dort to lead the team to rebound the score. In the second half, Dort and Muscala again played a 10-0 surge, with Johnson making a layup to help spurs stop the bleeding and Bokushevski's three-pointer adding fuel to the fire. After the third quarter, the Thunder overtook the Spurs 79-69. In the fourth quarter of the showdown, the Spurs relied on substitute Walker to lead the team to chase 9 points in a row, after which Thaddeus Young and Johnson helped the Spurs complete the rebound. Bezley scored five straight points to stop the bleeding, and robinson and Williams helped the Thunder continue to widen the point gap. In the decisive moment, the Spurs once again chased only 3 points, and at the critical moment, Dort dunked violently, after which the Spurs used foul tactics, the Thunder did not give the Spurs a chance, and Muscala made two free throws to seal the victory.
To be honest, watching the Spurs play now, it's really a bit heart-wrenching. Everyone looked like they could score, but the Spurs were behind and no one stepped up to help the team turn the tide. There used to be GDP, then there was Ka Jr. and Ade, and last season there was deRozan, and this season Popovich can only count on players like Johnson, Murray and Walker. In the game, Popovich is indeed very dissatisfied with many of the team's defensive rounds, including the Spurs' entire offense in the second half, but after calling a timeout, there is still not much change, in the end, these players are not good enough, not to reach the star level, not to mention what is the core topic of the team. In my opinion, the Spurs should be at ease this season, Popovich always has to face the reality, this season is actually a better opportunity, and now the Spurs are the end of the crossbow.
Feeling that the Thunder are 19 points behind the Lakers twice, after completing the turnover, the mood of this group of young people is different. Today, the Thunder's highest score on the team was only Muscara's 20 points, but the team was in good shape, rebounding 11 more than the Spurs, counterattacking soundly, daring to shoot, daring to make moves. In fact, the Thunder's front line includes the interior configuration, really general, they are mainly training young Kiddy this season, in addition to Alexander to control the ball, but after beating the Lakers, these young people's self-confidence has been improved, is this a turning point for the Thunder this season? In addition, Muscala played well today, the previous 3 seasons, he was only a marginal player in the team, and now he is gradually picking up the beam. In fact, the Thunder, including the Magic, is a young but talented team that is difficult to play, really let them find their own rhythm, and random punches can also kill the teacher.