Grading the OKC Thunder starters:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander set the tone early for the Thunder with his scoring, but his defense sticks out in the box score. Gilgeous-Alexander had another first quarter scoring double digits.
His 10 points in the first frame led him to a 28-point performance. From his patented stepback jumper to finishes against Jeremy Sochan, he got whatever shot he wanted.
It also felt like he took the ball away from the Spurs whenever he wanted. The Thunder’s star guard finished with a career-high seven steals.
Overall, he stuffed the stat sheet in a blowout win like superstars. Gilgeous-Alexander tallied six rebounds and five assists and turned it over only twice.
Josh Giddey got back to playing his brand of basketball. Giddey finished with one of his best games this season.
Giddey looked to attack the basket and finished with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Of course, Giddey also worked to get his teammates involved.
His pass to Holmgren for a dunk to end the first half ignited the crowd and capped off a 13-0 run. That was one of his seven assists against San Antonio after a season-high of 10 in Phoenix.
The Thunder love it when Lu Dort has loud, exciting performances, but games like this are perfect. Dort’s performance may go under the radar, but he was right in the middle of forcing the Spurs into 24 turnovers.
Dort had one steal and block, needing only 23 minutes against the Spurs to make his mark. He also knocked down his only 3-pointer in the first quarter.
This was a relatively quiet performance compared to his outburst against the Suns, but Jalen Williams was loud when he needed to be. He went for nine of his 11 points in the first quarter.
While he also had a couple of boards and three assists, his impact in a particular matchup was noticeable. Williams was one of the handful of Oklahoma City defenders who got a shot at guarding Wembanyama.
Williams may not have the height, but his freaky wingspan and length made him a good matchup for the big man. Wembanyama struggled to get any open looks with Williams on him and often looked uncomfortable.
The first chapter of the Chet Holmgren-Wembanyama rivalry could have been more impressive. The two got to go one-on-one only a handful of times without any notable plays.
Holmgren still played well, but it was not the preseason matchup we saw a month ago. Oklahoma City’s rookie finished with nine points, seven rebounds and a block.
Holmgren also got in on the Thunder’s steal party with a couple of his own.