Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Out, But Thunder Beat Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs faced the Oklahoma City Thunder Sunday evening. Despite a valiant effort from Zach Collins, the Spurs lost to a Thunder squad at the AT&T Center without their best player.

Coming off the most impressive win of their season against the Denver Nuggets, the San Antonio Spurs lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder 102-90 on Sunday evening. 

Continuing the theme of San Antonio's injury-riddled roster, Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan missed the chance to win consecutive games for the home crowd. Regarding injuries, Oklahoma City's All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a late scratch due to an abdominal strain. 

Leading for the first six minutes of the contest, the Spurs failed to upkeep the energy as the Thunder's aggressiveness got Zach Collins into foul trouble early in the first quarter. The Spurs trailed by as much as 17 points, with only a few runs of resistance in the first half. 

Aside from a few players, both teams struggled to shoot the ball. Both teams shot 37 percent from the field and converted less than 30 of their three-point shots.

Turnovers destroyed San Antonio as they coughed up the ball 18 times. With no true point guard on the court to lead the team, they lacked a sense of direction. 

The Spurs tied the game early in the third quarter, but the Thunder responded promptly with a 7-0 run diffusing San Antonio's short spark. While the home crowd was into the game, the Spurs could only do so much without Johnson's aggressive scoring and the energy-creating Sochan. 

Zach Collins scored the ball well and overall had a productive game. Late in the fourth quarter, his aggressiveness sparked a technical foul from Gregg Popovich as the officials swallowed their whistle on a bang-bang call under the rim. 

.@zcollins_33 for threeee! pic.twitter.com/2xq4Kk0XEs

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 13, 2023

Collins finished with a game-high 23 points on 4-5 three-point shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds.

The Spurs return to action Tuesday against the Orlando Magic. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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