It would be overly dramatic to call a mid-January game a must-win for any team, much less the defending champs. Oklahoma City entered Tuesday’s game against San Antonio an NBA-best 33–7, a touchdown ahead of the closest competition in the Western Conference, with a top-five offense and the best defensive rating in the NBA. But they were 0–3 against the Spurs this season and were tattooed by a combined 35 points in back-to-back games in December. If a team beats you three times you have to say they are better than you, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander noted after a Christmas Day beating. So let’s say it: San Antonio was better.
“Nobody likes the feeling,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “And if you don’t like the feeling, you got to do something about it.”
