Buoyed by Hot-Shooting Muscala, Thunder Come Back to Beat Spurs

Mike Muscala kept the offense afloat during a cold stretch, and the Thunder mounted a comeback against the San Antonio Spurs, securing their first non-Lakers win on the season.

Mike Muscala kept the offense afloat during a cold stretch, and the Thunder mounted a comeback against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night.

The Oklahoma City Thunder only scored 14 points in the first quarter, and shot 14/45 from the field in the first half. It's a good thing they had Mike Muscala, who scored 14 points within a five-minute stretch in the 2nd quarter to keep them alive. The Thunder win 99-94. Muscala led the team in scoring with 20 points. 

In what was a difficult and scrappy game for both offenses, the Thunder found their way to victory by committee. The Spurs' had a seemingly endless supply of guards to throw at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, holding him to just five shots in the first half of the game. Josh Giddey similarly struggled, looking uncharacteristically sloppy in stretches of this game.

This game ultimately felt like a throwback to the Thunder squads of old. They won with athleticism and defense, forcing turnovers and grabbing key rebounds late in the game when San Antonio looked like they would claw back.

Darius Bazley, Lou Dort and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl were the engine of that fourth quarter run, flipping a switch to ramp up the level of physicality. A flurry of Thunder fouls against Spurs guards gave them enough free throw attempts to pull within one possession with under two minutes left though. 

Smart passing by the struggling Giddey and free throws by Muscala eventually put this game on ice, leading OKC to their third win of the season.

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