Despite losing Game 2, the Spurs still have home-court advantage with Game 3 set to tip off at Frost Bank Center on Friday night.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs dropped Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals in Oklahoma City, making the series 1-1 coming to the Alamo City.
On the Spurs’ side, while not as otherworldly as his Game 1 performance, Victor Wembanyama still had a great game with 21 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and four blocks.
Devin Vassell was the big standout, however, scoring 22 points on 6-12 shooting from 3-point range.
Before leaving with an injury, Dylan Harper was also having a solid game with 12 points and three assists. But without him and De’Aaron Fox, who was ruled out for a second straight game, the Spurs struggled to take care of the ball without their two main point guards.
That brings us to the Spurs’ main problem in both games.
Turnovers plagued San Antonio in this affair and were ultimately one of the biggest differences. The Spurs turned the ball over 21 times to the Thunder’s nine, and Oklahoma City scored 27 points off those turnovers.
Stephon Castle, who had 11 turnovers in Game 1, continued to struggle to take care of the ball in Game 2, giving the ball away nine times. He did add a team-leading 25 points, eight assists and a possible Dunk of the Year candidate.
One can argue that if the Spurs took care of the ball a bit better, they’d be up 2-0 coming home. One reason for that is the Spurs outshot the Thunder in every way:
- From the field:
- Spurs: 41/84 (48.8%)
- Thunder: 45/94 (47.9%)
- From 3-point range:
- Spurs: 16/40 (40%)
- Thunder: 13/36 (36.1%)
- From the free throw line:
- Spurs: 15/17 (88.2%)
- Thunder: 19/24 (79.2%)
Due to the multitude of turnovers, the Thunder took 10 more shots than the Spurs—in a game decided by nine points, those shots are big.
Oklahoma City also outplayed the Spurs in many facets.
The Thunder bench absolutely came to play in Game 2, accounting for 47 Oklahoma City points. They had four bench players in double-figures (Alex Caruso: 17, Jared McCain: 12, Cason Wallace: 12, Ajay Mitchell: 10).
The Spurs bench wasn’t too shabby either with 21 points, but Oklahoma City’s second unit clearly had the advantage.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also showed why he’s the back-to-back MVP, following up his mediocre Game 1 performance with 30 points and nine assists in Game 2. He also had a +14 plus/minus, up from his -15 in Game 1.
Another guy who stepped up after struggling in Game 1 was Isaiah Hartenstein. After practically getting played off the court in the first matchup, Hartenstein turned in a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Chet Holmgren also had his moments while scoring 13 points.
This was largely without Jalen Williams, who only played seven minutes and scored four points. However, due to the strong bench play, this didn’t hinder Oklahoma City too much.
Speaking of injuries, that has seemed to put a damper on this series. As of Thursday evening, Dylan Harper and De’Aaron Fox are still questionable for Game 3 for the Spurs. Jalen Williams is also now questionable for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City has dealt with Williams being injured for a lot of the season. But we haven’t seen how the Spurs operate without their two main point guards other than the end of Game 2.
If both Harper and Fox don’t go, it’s possible a guy like Keldon Johnson starts, meaning Castle would move to the starting point guard position. He’s definitely capable, but his 20 turnovers in two games might be a bit scary for a lot of Spurs fans.
Regardless, turnovers will likely be a point of interest for the Spurs going forward; one can imagine head coach Mitch Johnson leaning into ball security in the film room as the team prepares for Game 3 on their home court.
Either way, despite losing in Game 2, the Spurs did their jobs in Oklahoma City by stealing one game and, with it, home-court advantage. They now have two straight home games to potentially go up 3-1 in the series.
In San Antonio, the Spurs are 2-0 against the Thunder this season.
The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. CT Friday.
How to watch
The game will be televised on NBC and streamed on Peacock. You can also listen to game action on WOAI 1200 and KXTN 1350.
Team stats leaders (playoffs)
- POINTS: Victor Wembanyama (22.1), Stephon Castle (20.1), De’Aaron Fox* (18.8)
- REBOUNDS: Wembanyama (12.3), Julian Champagnie (5.8), Dylan Harper* (5.3)
- ASSISTS: Castle (6.6), Fox* (5.8), Wembanyama (2.8)
- BLOCKS: Wembanyama (4.0), Luke Kornet (1.0), Devin Vassell (0.9)
- POINTS: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (28.7), Jalen Williams (17.8 in four games), Chet Holmgren (17.0)
- REBOUNDS: Holmgren (8.5), Isaiah Hartenstein (8.5), Williams (4.0)
- ASSISTS: Gilgeous-Alexander (7.8), Mitchell (4.6), Williams (3.3)
- BLOCKS: Holmgren (1.6), Gilgeous-Alexander (1.0), Hartenstein (0.9)
Injury report
As of 10 p.m. Thursday, here’s where the team’s respective injury reports stack up:
- De’Aaron Fox – Questionable (ankle sprain)
- Dylan Harper – Questionable (right abductor)
- Jalen Williams – Questionable (left hamstring)
- Thomas Sorber – Out (ACL)