OKC Thunder: Five takeaways from loss to San Antonio Spurs

Time to read
1 minute
Read so far

OKC Thunder: Five takeaways from loss to San Antonio Spurs

Thu, 01/14/2021 - 14:19
Posted in:
Body

Jan. 13—The Spurs maintained a slim lead throughout the fourth quarter to hold off the Thunder 112-102 Tuesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Here are five takeaways from the game:

Spurs make Thunder pay

The Spurs committed four turnovers to the Thunder’s 13, and San Antonio seemed to cash in on every OKC miscue.

The Spurs outscored the Thunder 26-2 in points off turnovers.

Attacking inside

The Thunder has been 3-point happy this season, ranking third in the NBA in 3-point attempts, but the Thunder attacked the Spurs at the rim Tuesday night.

It started early. Eighteen of the Thunder’s 26 points in the first quarter came in the paint.

OKC finished the game with a 50-36 advantage in points in the paint.

The Thunder attempted 26 3-pointers, well down from its season average of 40.4.

SGA’s two halves

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was primarily responsible for the Thunder’s success around the rim.

He shot 5-of-6 in the first half, with all of his makes coming from inside the restricted area.

Spurs guard Lonnie Walker IV couldn’t figure Gilgeous-Alexander out. Walker picked up his fourth foul midway through the third quarter.

Gilgeous-Alexander had an easy 12 points in the first half, but he was limited to eight points in the second half. He attempted just 10 shots the whole game, second fewest among the Thunder’s starting five.

Dort stays hot

The sample size is growing larger, and Luguentz Dort keeps draining 3-pointers.

Dort, who entered the night shooting 43% from long distance, shot 3-of-6 from behind the arc against the Spurs.

Dort was a 30% 3-point shooter in his rookie season. Through 10 games as a sophomore, Dort is leading the Thunder in 3-point shooting.

Dort, still known more for his defense, stole a Spurs inbounds pass with 36 seconds left. He kicked out to Darius Bazley for a wide open 3-pointer that could’ve cut San Antonio’s lead to three points, but Bazley missed.

Winless at home

The Thunder just finished an improbable 4-1 road trip, but Mark Daigneault’s club is still looking for its first win in Oklahoma City.

The Thunder is now 0-4 at home with losses to the Jazz, Magic, Pelicans and Spurs. The Thunder is 5-1 on the road.