The Oklahoma City Thunder were coming into this game feeling good after their win against the Nuggets Friday. The Thunder didn’t miss a beat in this game as they came out on fire. This was the first time in OKC Thunder history that the team had 8 players in double figures in a single game. It’s safe to say that this Thunder team is stacked and they’re growing right before our eyes. Since the All-Star break, Steven Adams has been a complete beast and he continued that tonight against the Spurs. Adams was able to be a complete monster in the paint tonight as the Spurs Aldridge and Poeltl couldn’t do much to contain Big Kiwi. Steven Adams was able to get his flip shot going and he was catching alley-oops throughout the night. The way that Steven Adams has been playing sets the tone for what the OKC Thunder wants to do when it comes to attacking the paint. Adams finished the game with 21 points and 14 rebounds on the night. When Adams plays like this it gives the team another scorer that the opposing team needs to worry about. While Adams was scoring and rebounding like a monster he needed a break and when that happened Nerlens Noel filled right in perfectly. Nerlens chipped in with 10 points and had 5 blocks on the night. Anything that the Spurs tried to put up in the paint against the Thunder it seemed as though Noel wanted to block it. When both bigs Adams and Noel are dominating the paint like they did tonight it makes it tough on the other team and opens things up for the Thunder.
With so many players on the Thunder going off tonight it gave the guys like CP3 & Gallinari a chance to get some rest. Both combined for 24 points on the night and played only 25 minutes roughly. It was a breath of fresh air to see all the other Thunder players step up showing what this team is capable of offensively. One of the bright upcoming players for the Thunder balling as of late is Luguentz Dort. One of the things that have stood out about Dort’s game is the fact that he’s on a two-way contract playing with the utmost confidence. Everyone raves about his play on the court and you can see a lot of grit and grind. Dort was able to have his defense turn into offense tonight against the Spurs. Tonight he finished with 15 points on the night and was able to make some key plays that gave the Thunder some separation. When you play with that much confidence anything is possible and Dort has proven that he belongs in the NBA. The Thunder has a young core of players and it’s led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who can score on any possession with ease. Shai was able to score 22 points on the night and he was attacking the paint and beating the Spurs with his first step. The future is bright in OKC with Shai continuing to grow every time he steps on the court. The Spurs had no answer for the Thunder on both ends of the court and it was extremely noticeable. The Thunder has some young legs compared to the Spurs who have some older veterans that weren’t able to hang in transition. If OKC can continue to play at this pace and the way that they’ve come together with chemistry it will be tough for anyone to get them out. This team has shown a lot of growth and they believe in what Billy Donovan has been coaching and it showed tonight and this whole season.
The San Antonio Spurs had a rough tonight and it started with their leading scorer LaMarcus Aldridge who finished with 8 points. Aldridge has always been a thorn in the side of the Thunder in his career but tonight was different. The combination of Adams and Noel made it a little tough on Aldridge but also he missed some shots that he usually hits to his credit. The Spurs just had a tough start to the game as Dejounte Murray got 2 fouls in the first 40 seconds of the game. Once the Spurs were without their leading playmaker who’s coming off of 2 back to back games with 20+ points that can throw a wrench into any situation. The Spurs didn’t really recover after losing Murray and they missed a lot of shots that they usually make against opposing teams. The Spurs depended on the 3 point line but it wasn’t nice to them at all knowing that they’re a mid-range shooting team. The Spurs shot 11-38 from the 3 point line tonight and it hurt their chances after trailing by as much as 28 points in the game. Rudy Gay was the leading scorer for the Spurs tonight with only 14 points. It was clear the Thunder wanted to eliminate the Spurs’ main scorers and they wanted the other guys to step up which didn’t happen. DeMar DeRozan struggled tonight as well as shooting 4-12 from the field for only 11 points. This game wasn’t the best for the Spurs and they will look to bounce back from this while the Thunder will take this 3 game winning streak into Chicago.
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