It looked like the Oklahoma City Thunder were on their way to arguably their most disappointing losses of the season when they trailed the short-handed and rebuilding San Antonio Spurs by 20 points in the third quarter.
The Spurs entered the game on an eight-game losing streak and a 1-13 record in their last 14 games. With the long list of injuries they had, this should’ve been an easy win for the Thunder.
Instead, the Thunder — missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — struggled to contain the Spurs, giving up 77 first-half points to the 29th-ranked offensive rating team in the league.
The second half was a different story though. The Thunder held the Spurs to 34 points — a season-low allowed by the Thunder this season. The Spurs went from shooting 27-of-42 (64.3%) from the field in the first half to 14-of-50 (28%) in the second half.
Such a stark contrast in offense gave the Thunder plenty of time to mount a comeback and that’s exactly what happened as they outscored the Spurs 59-34 in the second half.
Rookie wing Jalen Williams led the way. He played the best game of his young career in terms of points and timely baskets. Williams did his best SGA impersonation in the second half as the go-to scorer. Lu Dort and Josh Giddey also chipped in.
For the Spurs, Devin Vassell finished with 25 points and outside marksmen Keldon Johnson, who entered the game shooting 36.5% from outside on 8.4 attempts, was held to 19 points on 5-of-22 shooting and 4-of-13 shooting from outside.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades from this 119-111 win over the Spurs.
Jalen Williams: A-plus
With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out, scoring and ball-handling opportunities were up for grabs. Jalen Williams was the biggest benefactor of Gilgeous-Alexander’s absence. He scored a season-high 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting, including scoring 20 second-half points on perfect 8-of-8 shooting.
12 of those points came in the third quarter and the remaining eight were scored in the fourth quarter.
The biggest bucket of Williams’ career night came with 30 seconds left in the game.
Williams drained the clock, call for an isolation and a Tre Mann screen created enough separation to shoot and make a floater that gave the Thunder a four-point lead late in the game.
When the Thunder needed a score, they relied on Williams and he delivered.
❝We're just resilient.❞
After a career-high game in a comeback win, @ParisNLawson spoke to @JdubPSCEO following the victory. pic.twitter.com/Jena7a7nNp
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 1, 2022
Big finish for the rook 👏 pic.twitter.com/M2GbBqFbzN
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 1, 2022
JDub with AUTHORITY 😤@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/ZlKnVEugVV
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 1, 2022
Poku with the put back, JDub with the knockdown from downtown pic.twitter.com/iINhIaogQm
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 1, 2022
TALK TO 'EM J-DUB 🔥@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/rXyynF0e9s
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 1, 2022
Lu Dort: A
Lu Dort was the other 20-point scorer for the Thunder. He finished with 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting and went 3-of-7 from 3.
On the defensive side, Dort helped hold sharpshooter Keldon Johnson to an inefficient 19 points on 22 shots that included 4-of-13 from 3-point territory.
NOT ON DORT 😤@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/urm5yZ9r8N
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 1, 2022
LUUUUUUUUUU 👌
There's a new option to watch the Thunder. Learn More: https://t.co/YioxgSU4nH@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/O0Qp21o6hR
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 1, 2022
Josh Giddey: B
Josh Giddey had it going tonight. He finished with 14 points on 7-of-18 shooting, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished five assists.
What makes Giddey’s work on the boards even more impressive is that five of his 14 rebounds were on the offensive glass. The tall point guard certainly used his size to his advantage and creates second-chance opportunities for the Thunder.
After the game, Giddey gave a great answer when asked about the criticisms he’s heard about his poor shooting numbers this season, saying improving his shot requires deconstruction before real positive change occurs.
Giddey is shooting 48.8% on effective field goal percentage, which is in the 27th percentile among forwards this season, according to Cleaning the Glass.
“Good things don’t happen overnight. These things take time and usually when you’re changing something you’ve done for years and years, there’s going to be backward steps before there’s forward steps.
“So I’m trusting Chip (Engelland). He is the best in the business at what he does. Confidence is unwavering, you know, being selective, taking the right shots, but whether they’re going in this year, next year or whatever, just trusting what he has in place because he’s done it for so long. His record speaks for itself. As all good things, nothing really happens overnight.”
Coming out the gates strong pic.twitter.com/v0KqOLFoeu
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 1, 2022
Giddey with a no look pass to Wigs 👀 pic.twitter.com/zRbjtd1IBX
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 1, 2022
Tre Mann: B
After an ugly shooting two-game road trip where Tre Mann went 1-of-16 (6.3 percent) from 3, he looked much more comfortable at home as he scored 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
When asked about his offensive struggles, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault pushed back a bit and said his defensive effort is enough to continue to give Mann minutes despite his poor shooting numbers.
“We’re encouraging him to be aggressive,” said Daigneault. “It would be really hypocritical if we were encouraging him to be aggressive, and then we turn around and punished him for being aggressive when he didn’t shoot well.”
Tre Mann INT for two pic.twitter.com/47m0U5pyUV
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 1, 2022
Tre gets tricky on the reverse 🔄 pic.twitter.com/IY2XgzUK3v
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 1, 2022
Ousmane Dieng: B
It looks like the G League did Ousmane Dieng some good. He has played much better and looks more confident on offense.
In 23 minutes, Dieng finished with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. The Thunder also outscored the Spurs by seven points when Dieng was on the floor.
“I think being with the G League has really helped his confidence,” said Giddey.
Since returning from his extensive stay with the OKC Blue, Dieng has scored 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds in 34 minutes.
Darius Bazley: B-plus
It’s not a coincidence the Thunder’s defense improved significantly when Darius Bazley was on the floor.
After being the only active Thunder player to not see the floor in the first half, Bazley was a plus-14 in 14 second-half minutes.
While he scored just one point and grabbed three rebounds, Daigneault credits Bazley for staying ready and energizing the Thunder when he was called upon to provide some juice.
The results were as clear as day as the Spurs were held to 34 second-half points, a significant drop from the 77 points they scored in the first half.
Started with the big block from Baze ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/ri3UgI0W1b
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 1, 2022
BIG TIME REJECTION 😤@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/AfHkla8ldN
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 1, 2022
