Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Repeats as NBA MVP, Leads Thunder to Top
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

SAN ANTONIO — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder opened their season with a 116-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night. It was the first meeting between the teams since the Spurs eliminated the Thunder in last season's Western Conference finals.

Jared McCain made six 3-pointers and scored 20 points off the bench, and Chet Holmgren added 14 points. Oklahoma City's defense held Victor Wembanyama to the worst shooting game of his career.

Wembanyama made just 1 of 13 shots from the field and missed his first 12 attempts. He finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks, getting 10 of his points at the free-throw line.

"I need to go back to playing the basketball I like," Wembanyama said. "I don't need to do more. I need to think less."

Thunder take control early

The game was the final matchup of the NBA's opening-night tripleheader. It was a rematch of a seven-game conference finals series that San Antonio won before losing to the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals.

Oklahoma City controlled the game from the start. The Thunder led 34-28 after the first quarter, then pulled away in the second.

The game became heated with 9:21 left in the second quarter, when the Thunder led 37-28. De'Aaron Fox was called for a flagrant 1 foul after throwing Holmgren to the floor. In the scuffle that followed, technical fouls were given to Wembanyama and three Thunder players: Jaylin Williams, Jalen Williams and Kenrich Williams. No one was ejected.

The Thunder responded by scoring the next nine points. Later, a 13-0 run pushed their lead to 59-33. Oklahoma City outscored San Antonio 31-16 in the second quarter and led 65-44 at halftime after making 10 of 14 3-pointers in the first half.

Spurs rally falls short

San Antonio came back in the third quarter, outscoring the Thunder 36-28 to cut the deficit to 93-80 heading into the fourth.

Each time the Spurs got closer, Gilgeous-Alexander and McCain answered. The two combined for 25 points in the second half, and the Spurs never got closer than single digits late in the game. San Antonio's only lead came early, when it led by three.

Gilgeous-Alexander, who has won the last two MVP awards, extended his NBA-record streak of games with at least 20 points to 128.

"We took a step in the right direction," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "It's the first game of the season and we're trying to get better every night."

Defense makes the difference

Oklahoma City had the NBA's best defense last season, and that showed again Tuesday. San Antonio shot 38.7% from the field and made only 10 of 37 3-pointers.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault credited Holmgren and rookie center Aday Mara for their defense on Wembanyama.

"I thought he missed shots that he can normally make from the floor," Daigneault said of Wembanyama. "I thought Chet did a great job on him."

The Thunder repeatedly sent extra defenders at Wembanyama and challenged him physically near the basket. He went to the free-throw line 12 times. He was still a strong defensive presence, blocking six shots, but he could not get his offense going.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson did not single out his star.

"I thought it was a pretty well-rounded poor effort by all of us," Johnson said.

San Antonio used a new starting lineup with Wembanyama, Fox, Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell. Johnson said the team did not look connected and that its off-ball defense was a mess.

Scoring leaders

Castle led the Spurs with 24 points, making 5 of 12 3-pointers. Harper added 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Fox had 14 points and seven assists on 6-of-9 shooting.

The Spurs scored 31 fast-break points to Oklahoma City's 12 and blocked 11 shots. They also made 22 of 25 free throws. But their poor outside shooting and second-quarter collapse were too much to overcome.

Oklahoma City shot 45.3% overall and made 14 of 31 3-pointers. The Thunder's bench outscored San Antonio's 48-29.

McCain was the key reserve, making 7 of 9 shots, including 6 of 8 from 3-point range. Alex Caruso added nine points and six rebounds, and Mara scored seven points.

Jalen Williams, back in the lineup, scored 12 points but made only 5 of 16 shots. Williams and guard Ajay Mitchell were both out with injuries by the end of last season's conference finals, which the Thunder believe hurt them in that series. Mitchell had four points and six assists Tuesday.

A rivalry renewed

Last season, the teams split their games before San Antonio beat Oklahoma City in a Game 7 to end the Thunder's hopes of repeating as champions.

Daigneault said the Thunder are still learning about their newest rival.

"I think our collective understanding of the opponent evolves over time," he said.

Gilgeous-Alexander tried to downplay the significance of the win. He acknowledged the game had extra emotion because of last season's playoff loss but said it was only one game.

Up next

The Thunder host the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. The Spurs will try to rebound and fix their offense after a difficult start to the season.