Field Level Media
Feb 23, 2020
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 22 points and Chris Paul narrowly missed a triple-double to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 131-103 home victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.
The Thunder got rolling in the second quarter, answering a Spurs run with 16 consecutive points to jump ahead. That stretch, like most of the game, came from a balanced scoring effort.
Luguentz Dort, a rookie on a two-way contract, came up big for Oklahoma City with two big baskets in the 16-0 run, including a 3-pointer to finish off the stretch, and put the Thunder up 52-45.
Dort was big on both ends of the floor. On offense, he went 6 of 6 from the field, including 2 of 2 from 3-point range, to finish with 15 points. For the first time in Thunder history, eight players scored in double figures.
On the other end, Dort had three steals and played a big part in Oklahoma City slowing San Antonio's offense. The Thunder outscored the Spurs by 36 points with Dort on the floor.
San Antonio shot a season-low 36.9 percent from the field.
While the second quarter set up Oklahoma City's victory, the third quarter turned what had been a close game into a blowout. The Thunder outscored San Antonio 37-18 in the period to take control. By the time the fourth quarter started, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich sat his starters.
The game was the end of an eight-game, 20-day road trip for San Antonio that was sandwiched around the All-Star break.
The Spurs went 2-6 on the trip, with Sunday's loss snapping their two-game winning streak. San Antonio defeated the Thunder earlier on the trip, with LaMarcus Aldridge and Dejounte Murray leading the way as DeMar DeRozan sat out.
Oklahoma City slowed down all three of those players Sunday. Aldridge and Murray combined to shoot just 3 of 17 from the field. Murray missed all seven of his shots and was held scoreless for the first time this season.
DeRozan had 11 points but was just 4 of 12 from the field. Rudy Gay's 14 points were a team high.
--Field Level Media