Keldon Johnson Spearheads Spurs' 3-Point Shooting Surge in Win Over Thunder

The San Antonio Spurs found a way to beat one of the top contenders in the Western Conference from an impressive day behind the arc, and Keldon Johnson.

Nov 9, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (0) in the first half against the Utah Jazz at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

In the San Antonio Spurs' win 110-104 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night, the 3-point shot was the tale of the tape.

San Antonio shot 19-of-46 from behind the arc, far surpassing the Oklahoma City's 16-of-53 clip. The majority of the Spurs' lineup found success in their 3-point shot, but one name rose above the rest — Keldon Johnson.

Continuing his newfound role as the sixth man this season, Johnson dropped 22 points, five rebounds and four assists on 7-of-15 shooting from the field ... and Aaron Wiggins on a highlight-worthy dunk over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

KELDON JOHNSON MY GOODNESS 🤯😱 pic.twitter.com/ReYnPkHyMe

— NBA (@NBA) November 20, 2024

Beyond that, the majority of his shot attempts came from 3, however, as Johnson finished 6-of-12 on the night.

READ MORE: Spurs Top Thunder in NBA Cup Battle

The 25-year-old has struggled with 3-point shooting since the regular season began, shooting 25.5 percent in 14 games of action. He's historically been a capable shooter from the outside, but it's taken him awhile to start building some confidence in his shot again.

The win over the Thunder might've been the exact point that Johnson's 3-point percentage starts to move towards an upward trajectory. A defense with several strong perimeter defenders — Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort and Cason Wallace, just to name a few — struggled to keep up with his offensive output.

"The (Spurs) had us on our heels," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "(Keldon) was in the middle of all that. He gets some clean looks early to fall, and then his confidence lifted. … that’s when the game started to get away from us a little bit.

"He had everything to do with that."

After leading San Antonio to an impressive past the Thunder and leading the team in points, it should serve as a huge confidence-booster for Johnson moving forward.

The Spurs are in need of his microwave offense off the bench, especially if Victor Wembanyama misses more games with his knee injury, and Jeremy Sochan remains sidelined for an extended period of time.

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