Game ID: 22301163
San Antonio Spurs @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 8:00 PM ET
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
OKC 34 34 30 29 127SAS 11 24 29 25 89
OKC vs SAS ScoutingOKC vs SAS Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
OKC availability going into 4/03 · back-to-backOUT Dieng missed 7 since 3/22, out tonight
BACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 3/31 after 2, 35 min since (101% of 35)
NEW Wiggins 16 to 24 min over the last 4
OKC availability going into 4/05 · 1 day's restOUT Gilgeous-Alexande missed 2 since 4/02, out tonight
OUT Jal. Williams missed 2 since 4/02, out tonight
OUT Dieng missed 8 since 3/22, out tonight
NEW Joe 18 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Wiggins 16 to 25 min over the last 5
NEW Jay. Williams 13 to 18 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/07 · 1 day's restOUT Gilgeous-Alexande missed 3 since 4/02, out tonight
OUT Jal. Williams missed 3 since 4/02, out tonight
OUT Dieng missed 9 since 3/22, out tonight
NEW Joe 18 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Wiggins 16 to 23 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/09 · 1 day's restOUT Gilgeous-Alexande missed 4 since 4/02, returns tonight: 38 min (109% of 35)
OUT Jal. Williams missed 4 since 4/02, returns tonight: 36 min (111% of 32)
OUT Dieng missed 10 since 3/22, out tonight
NEW Giddey 24 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Wiggins 16 to 25 min over the last 5
NEW K. Williams 14 to 20 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/10 · back-to-backOUT Hayward missed 2 since 4/07, returns tonight: 20 min (133% of 15)
OUT Dieng missed 11 since 3/22, out tonight
BACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/09 after 4, 38 min since (109% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/09 after 4, 36 min since (111% of 32)
NEW Giddey 24 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Joe 18 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Wiggins 16 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW K. Williams 14 to 20 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restOUT Dieng missed 12 since 3/22, returns tonight: 5 min (51% of 10)
BACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/09 after 4, 32 min since (92% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/09 after 4, 30 min since (92% of 32)
BACK Hayward back 4/10 after 2, 20 min since (133% of 15)
NEW Giddey 24 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Wiggins 16 to 23 min over the last 5
NEW K. Williams 14 to 20 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restBACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/09 after 4, 31 min since (89% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/09 after 4, 29 min since (89% of 32)
BACK Hayward back 4/10 after 2, 23 min since (153% of 15)
BACK Dieng back 4/12 after 12, 5 min since (51% of 10)
NEW Giddey 24 to 31 min over the last 4
NEW Wiggins 16 to 22 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/21 · 6 days' restBACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/09 after 4, 27 min since (78% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/09 after 4, 25 min since (77% of 32)
BACK Hayward back 4/10 after 2, 22 min since (150% of 15)
BACK Dieng back 4/12 after 12, 12 min since (115% of 10)
NEW Wiggins 16 to 23 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/24 · 2 days' restBACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/09 after 4, 30 min since (85% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/09 after 4, 28 min since (87% of 32)
BACK Hayward back 4/10 after 2, 19 min since (128% of 15)
BACK Dieng back 4/12 after 12, 12 min since (115% of 10)
SAS availability going into 4/02 · 1 day's restOUT Gray missed 9 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Duke Jr. missed 9 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Cissoko missed 14 since 3/05, returns tonight: 5 min (43% of 12)
BACK Graham back 3/23 after 4, 14 min since (100% of 14)
NEW Champagnie 20 to 29 min over the last 5
SAS availability going into 4/05 · 2 days' restOUT Johnson missed 2 since 3/31, out tonight
OUT Gray missed 10 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Duke Jr. missed 10 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Bouyea missed 2 since 3/31, out tonight
BACK Graham back 3/31 after 3, 19 min since (139% of 14)
BACK Cissoko back 4/02 after 14, 5 min since (43% of 12)
NEW Vassell 33 to 39 min over the last 3
NEW Champagnie 20 to 31 min over the last 5
SAS availability going into 4/07 · 1 day's restOUT Johnson missed 3 since 3/31, returns tonight: 24 min (80% of 30)
OUT Gray missed 11 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Duke Jr. missed 11 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Bouyea missed 3 since 3/31, out tonight
BACK Graham back 3/31 after 3, 21 min since (153% of 14)
BACK Cissoko back 4/02 after 14, 6 min since (47% of 12)
NEW Jones 28 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Branham 21 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW Champagnie 20 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Osman 18 to 23 min over the last 4
SAS availability going into 4/09 · 1 day's restOUT Gray missed 12 since 3/15, returns tonight: 4 min (30% of 13)
OUT Duke Jr. missed 12 since 3/15, returns tonight: 3 min (25% of 13)
OUT Bouyea missed 4 since 3/31, returns tonight: 3 min (25% of 13)
BACK Johnson back 4/07 after 3, 24 min since (80% of 30)
BACK Graham back 3/31 after 3, 24 min since (179% of 14)
BACK Cissoko back 4/02 after 14, 6 min since (47% of 12)
NEW Wembanyama 30 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Jones 28 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Branham 21 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Champagnie 20 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Osman 18 to 25 min over the last 3
SAS availability going into 4/10 · back-to-backBACK Johnson back 4/07 after 3, 24 min since (80% of 30)
BACK Graham back 3/31 after 3, 24 min since (174% of 14)
BACK Gray back 4/09 after 12, 4 min since (30% of 13)
BACK Duke Jr. back 4/09 after 12, 3 min since (25% of 13)
BACK Bouyea back 4/09 after 4, 3 min since (25% of 13)
BACK Cissoko back 4/02 after 14, 11 min since (92% of 12)
NEW Jones 28 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Branham 21 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Champagnie 20 to 37 min over the last 5
SAS availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restBACK Johnson back 4/07 after 3, 24 min since (80% of 30)
BACK Gray back 4/09 after 12, 8 min since (63% of 13)
BACK Duke Jr. back 4/09 after 12, 11 min since (83% of 13)
BACK Bouyea back 4/09 after 4, 8 min since (60% of 13)
BACK Cissoko back 4/02 after 14, 15 min since (130% of 12)
NEW Wembanyama 30 to 35 min over the last 4
NEW Jones 28 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Branham 21 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Champagnie 20 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Graham 14 to 24 min over the last 5
SAS availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restBACK Johnson back 4/07 after 3, 24 min since (80% of 30)
BACK Gray back 4/09 after 12, 8 min since (63% of 13)
BACK Duke Jr. back 4/09 after 12, 10 min since (77% of 13)
BACK Bouyea back 4/09 after 4, 8 min since (60% of 13)
NEW Wembanyama 30 to 36 min over the last 4
NEW Jones 28 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Branham 21 to 32 min over the last 4
NEW Champagnie 20 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Wesley 14 to 20 min over the last 5
NEW Graham 14 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Cissoko 12 to 18 min over the last 4
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 119, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 24 free throws a game; Holmgren at 17 and Dort at 16 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Second night of a back-to-back. San Antonio comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 111, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 16 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 25 and Branham at 16 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where San Antonio has been plus-4 a night and OKC minus-6 and the line, where OKC takes 24 free throws a game to San Antonio's 16. Call it OKC 116, San Antonio 113, San Antonio keeping it close.
4/03 @ BOS 100-135 — OKC notes
OKC lost 100-135. OKC shot 43% (35 of 81) to BOS's 54%, 5 of 24 from three, and went to the line 28 times to BOS's 19 — 25 points from the stripe to their 18. The glass went 31-46 against them. Giddey led with 17 (7 of 11); Dort added 15, Joe 13. Q3 was theirs, 36-32, the deficit cut from 14 to 10, but the other 3 periods went 103-64 against them. Wiggins's -30 in 29 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/05 @ IND 112-126 — OKC notes
OKC lost 112-126. OKC shot 49% (42 of 86) to IND's 52%, 8 of 30 from three. Dort led with 22 (8 of 15, 2 of 7 from three); K. Williams added 18, Holmgren 15. Q1 was theirs, 32-31, but the other 3 periods went 95-80 against them. They led by as many as 10. Wallace's -29 in 21 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/07 @ CHA 121-118 — OKC notes
OKC won 121-118. OKC shot 52% (45 of 87) to CHA's 54%, 18 of 36 from three. Wiggins led with 26 (11 of 20, 2 of 6 from three); Giddey added 20, Holmgren 20. The hinge was Q2, 34-26: a lead of 2 became 10.
4/09 vs SAC 112-105 — OKC notes
OKC won 112-105. OKC shot 49% (39 of 80) to SAC's 34%, 11 of 30 from three. The glass went 42-56 against them. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 40 (11 of 21, 2 of 3 from three, 16 of 20 at the line); Dort added 18, Holmgren 15. The hinge was Q3, 39-23: the deficit went from 19 to 3. OKC trailed 45-64 at the half and won the second half 67-41. Wiggins was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
4/10 vs SAS 127-89 — OKC notes
OKC won 127-89. OKC shot 47% (47 of 101) to SAS's 33%, 16 of 38 from three. The glass went 62-47 for them. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 26 (10 of 18, 1 of 3 from three); Giddey added 20, Hayward 18. The hinge was Q1, 34-11: from level to 23 ahead, and the lead reached 42. Gilgeous-Alexander was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
4/12 vs MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 115, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 24 free throws a game; Dort at 17 and Giddey at 15 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 108, shooting 47 percent and 38 from three, 17 free throws a game; Lillard at 25 and Portis at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the line, where OKC takes 24 free throws a game to Milwaukee's 17 and the defense, Milwaukee allowing 108 a night to OKC's 115. Call it OKC 116, Milwaukee 113, Milwaukee keeping it close.
4/14 vs DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 109, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 30 and Holmgren at 16 a game. That is 4 straight wins. One day's rest. Dallas comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 109, shooting 50 percent and 34 from three, 22 free throws a game; Dončić at 35 and Irving at 29 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Lively II (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Dallas has been plus-6 a night and OKC minus-1 and the arc, OKC at 38 percent from three to Dallas's 34. Call it OKC 117, Dallas 113, Dallas keeping it close.
4/21 vs NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 101, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 21 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 26 and Holmgren at 16 a game. That is 5 straight wins. 6 days' rest. New Orleans comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 112, shooting 48 percent and 44 from three, 19 free throws a game; McCollum at 29 and Williamson at 24 a game. Without Marshall (2 straight), Hawkins (3 straight). 6 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 101 a night to New Orleans's 112. Call it OKC 118, New Orleans 110.
4/24 vs NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 96, shooting 50 percent and 37 from three, 20 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 26 and Holmgren at 15 a game. That is 5 straight wins. 2 days' rest. New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 110, shooting 46 percent and 42 from three, 17 free throws a game; McCollum at 27 and Murphy III at 23 a game. Without Hawkins (4 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 96 a night to New Orleans's 110 and the arc, New Orleans at 42 percent from three to OKC's 37. Call it OKC 116, New Orleans 107.
4/02 @ DEN 105-110 — SAS notes
SAS lost 105-110. SAS shot 40% (42 of 105) to DEN's 44%, 13 of 44 from three. Branham led with 24 (10 of 19, 3 of 8 from three); Wembanyama added 23, Collins 13. Q2 was theirs, 31-25, the deficit cut from 7 to 1, but the other 3 periods went 85-74 against them. Graham's -20 in 19 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/05 @ NOP 111-109 — SAS notes
SAS won 111-109. SAS shot 51% (42 of 83) to NOP's 51%, 17 of 46 from three. Graham led with 20 (6 of 15, 4 of 12 from three); Wembanyama added 17, Champagnie 15. The hinge was Q3, 35-25: SAS came in trailing by 10 and left it level. SAS trailed 51-61 at the half and won the second half 60-48. Branham was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
4/07 vs PHI 126-133 — SAS notes
SAS lost 126-133 in 2 overtimes. SAS shot 45% (44 of 98) to PHI's 46%, 16 of 44 from three, and went to the line 26 times to PHI's 19 — 22 points from the stripe to their 17. SAS turned it over 25 times to PHI's 10, and PHI turned those into 15 steals. The glass went 59-46 for them. Wembanyama led with 33 (11 of 20, 5 of 10 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Branham added 22, Jones 17. Q2 was theirs, 40-23, turning a 7-point deficit into a 10-point lead, but the other 5 periods went 110-86 against them. They led by as many as 13. Champagnie's -16 in 40 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/09 @ MEM 102-87 — SAS notes
SAS won 102-87. SAS shot 48% (42 of 87) to MEM's 35%, 10 of 40 from three. SAS turned it over 16 times to MEM's 7, and MEM turned those into 10 steals. Wembanyama led with 18 (9 of 19, 0 of 5 from three); Champagnie added 17, Wesley 13. The hinge was Q3, 29-12: SAS came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 16, and the lead reached 20. SAS trailed 48-49 at the half and won the second half 54-38. Jones was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
4/10 @ OKC 89-127 — SAS notes
SAS lost 89-127. SAS shot 33% (32 of 96) to OKC's 47%, 9 of 40 from three. The glass went 47-62 against them. Collins led with 20 (8 of 17, 2 of 5 from three); Cissoko added 14, Jones 13. Q3 was theirs, 29-30, but the other 3 periods went 97-60 against them. Champagnie's -35 in 24 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/12 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 113, shooting 43 percent and 30 from three, 17 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 23 and Branham at 15 a game. One day's rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 104, shooting 50 percent and 41 from three, 18 free throws a game; Jokić at 33 and Murray at 21 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, Denver at 41 percent from three to San Antonio's 30 and the defense, Denver allowing 104 a night to San Antonio's 113. Call it Denver 115, San Antonio 109.
4/14 vs DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 115, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 18 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 26 and Champagnie at 14 a game. One day's rest. Detroit comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 101 a night and allowing 111, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 17 free throws a game; Ivey at 19 and Duren at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. Without Cunningham (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: San Antonio wins, and the game turns on the glass, where San Antonio has been plus-2 a night and Detroit minus-10 and the turnovers, San Antonio giving it away 18 times a game to Detroit's 13. Call it San Antonio 114, Detroit 110, Detroit keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
OKCAF A. Flagler
AW A. Wiggins
BB B. Biyombo
CH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
GH G. Hayward
IJ I. Joe
JG J. Giddey
JW J. Williams
JW Jal. Williams
JW Jay. Williams
KW K. Williams
LW L. Waters III
MM M. Muscala
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
SASBW B. Wesley
DD D. Duke Jr.
DG D. Graham
JB J. Bouyea
JC J. Champagnie
MB M. Branham
RG R. Gray
SC S. Cissoko
SM S. Mamukelashvili
TJ T. Jones
ZC Z. Collins
OKC/SAS the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Gilgeous-Alexander scores 26 as Thunder roll past Wembanyama-less Spurs, 127-89
OKLAHOMA CITY -- — Thunder coach Mark Daigneault has preached all season that his team is about the process rather than results.
Wednesday's performance supported his claim. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points in 26 minutes, and Oklahoma City rolled past the Victor Wembanyama -less San Antonio Spurs 127-89.
Wembanyama, one of the league's rising stars as a rookie, was out with an injured right ankle. San Antonio’s No. 2 scorer, Devin Vassell , was out with a foot injury, No. 3 scorer Keldon Johnson was out with a sprained left foot and No. 4 scorer Jeremy Sochan missed the game with a left ankle issue.
Oklahoma City still approached the game as it normally would. The Thunder ran out to an 11-0 lead as the Spurs missed their first seven shots and didn’t score for more than three minutes at the start. The Thunder led 34-11 at the end of the first quarter. It was the fewest points Oklahoma City has allowed in any quarter this season.
“I thought we were businesslike and serious to start the game, both ends of the floor, and really sustained it throughout,” Daigneault said. “I thought we did a nice job tonight, playing the way that we want to play and stacking those possessions, regardless of the scoreboard. So give the guys a lot of credit.”
Josh Giddey had 20 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists and Gordon Hayward added 18 points for the Thunder, who won their third straight and improved to 55-25 overall.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he was sitting Wembanyama because it was the second game of a back-to-back set and he was looking out for his star's long-term health. He didn't say if Wembanyama would return Friday.
“I feel badly because he’s not a happy camper right now,” Popovich said before the game. “He wants to be out there, but I’m looking at the long view. And, you know, we’ve had some trouble with this particular injury during the season.”
Zach Collins had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Spurs.
The Thunder entered the night just one game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves in the race for the best record in the Western Conference with three games remaining. The Thunder say they are more interested in playing well down the stretch than worrying about their position in the standings.
“We’re not going to white knuckle the last week of the season and watch the standings because we haven’t done that all year," Daigneault said. "We’ve just really focused on being the best team we can be, and that’s what we’ll continue to do all the way through to 82.”
Oklahoma City led 68-35 at halftime. The Thunder held San Antonio to 28.6% shooting and scored 22 points off San Antonio's 10 turnovers before the break. Gilgeous-Alexander and Giddey each scored 18 points in the first half. It was a season low in points allowed for the Thunder in a half this season.
Despite the score, Popovich was just glad to see some of his young players compete.
“Doesn’t matter what’s going on on the court, it’s about them executing — how to play not just with each other, but improving their individual games," he said. "They’re all young guys trying to make a career. So all the minutes of that experience adds up over time.”