Thunder Losing Streak to Seven, Inches Shy From Victory Versus Spurs

The Oklahoma City Thunder came one shot short from victory Wednesday evening.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s shot was no good, and the Thunder’s losing streak stacked to seven in the Alamo City – faltering to the San Antonio Spurs 122-120.

For the Thunder, the loss placed them on a league-worst seven-game cold spell, plating themselves at 20-49 on the year.

Oklahoma City stuck to their starting unit to open play as through 12 minutes, the trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Darius Bazley, and Isaiah Roby accounted for 22 of the roster’s 29 points. On the flip side, San Antonio spread out their efforts for a 37-29 lead.

The Thunder placed four double-digit scorers in the evening.

Oklahoma City stirred up some traction in the middle of the second quarter, tying with 3:59 remaining off a Gilgeous-Alexander free throw. However, the Thunder failed to capitalize on their mini-run, capping the half 2-of-5 en route to a 17-5 Spurs run, and a 68-56 deficit headed into the half.

San Antonio latched to a double-digit lead for the majority of the frame. However, a 20-point quarter from Gilgeous-Alexander and 10-consecutive points from Bazley, capped by two triples, inched the game to single digits at 98-91.

Mark Daigneault’s ‘bench mob’ starred in the fourth quarter’s onset, etching their first lead of the game at the 6:36 mark off a Vit Krejci triple. After multiple exchanges, the Thunder entered their final possession down a point. Aleksej Pokusevski delivered – earning a bucket off a goaltended driving layup with 4.8 seconds to go.

Lonnie Walker IV called the game, draining an inbound three with 1.8 seconds on tap. Oklahoma City failed to respond as SGA’s three-pointer had been stuffed off-the-catch.

Amidst Oklahoma City’s struggles, offense has not been an issue – it has fallen on the defense. In all, San Antonio shot a blistering 46.3% from distance while Dejounte Murray, Keldon Johnson, Lonnie Walker IV dropped 26, 22, and 20 points, respectively.

Since the All-Star break, opposing teams have shot a league-best 41.4% on threes.

In the Thunder’s camp, their 10-man rotation worked wonders to shoot 52.4% in all, and 37.1% from distance. As noted by Daigneault, the current rotation has handed a perfect opportunity to multiple members of the roster.

Gilgeous-Alexander hounded San Antonio from start to finish, trouncing out 34 points and eight assists across a 14-of-22 shooting clip. For SGA, the big night marks the ninth time since the break he’s accrued 30+ points.

Forward Bazley continued his hot streak tacking on his third-straight 20-point performance. In his 33 minutes, Bazley tacked on 25 points off a 9-of-16 shot chart.

Rising prospect Pokusevski’s up-and-down play is no more as of two weeks ago. Along with his game-altering layup, the Serb added 16 points and six rebounds off the bench.

Oklahoma City will have a shot to shift the tides Friday versus the Miami Heat.

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