Wembanyama's struggles continue as Spurs lose second straight game
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San Antonio can't find an offensive rhythm in 105-93 loss to the Thunder.
The headlines for the San Antonio Spurs matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder highlighted the clash of two lanky, skilled big men in Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren. The matchup didn't exactly live up to the hype, as Holmgren and the Thunder rolled the Spurs 105-93.
Wembanyama struggled for his second game in a row, putting up 6 points and 8 rebounds while shooting just 1-5 from the field. Much like Houston and Dallas did, the Thunder swarmed the big man whenever he touched the ball and played physically with him on the perimeter, either forcing a turnover (he had 4) or preventing him from making a move. He did make an impact defensively, deterring the Thunder in the paint with 3 blocks.
As the Spurs' offense sputtered to start the game, the Thunder got hot from three. San Antonio shot just 29.2% from the field in the first quarter, while OKC shot 50% from three in the first half. San Antonio couldn't create open looks against the stifling Thunder defense. OKC forced the Spurs to turn the ball over 22 times in the game. On offense, Oklahoma City did a good job of moving the ball and finding the open man both in the half-court and transition.
The Spurs came surging back in the third quarter on the backs of the veterans, Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes. Paul was assertive in the pick-and-roll and wasn't afraid to pull from deep. He finished the game with 14 points and 9 assists while shooting 3-7 from deep. Barnes was solid as a floor spacer and made the Thunder pay for hard closeouts with attacks to the basket. He led San Antonio in scoring with 18 points on 7-12 shooting.
The Spurs managed to cut the lead to 7 at the start of the fourth quarter thanks to five straight points from Malaki Branham. The third-year guard got hot in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough as the Thunder pulled away with some hot shooting from Lu Dort, who led the Thunder in scoring with 20 points and 6-8 shooting from deep. Holmgren had 19 points and 2 blocks in the win.
The Thunder improve to 4-0 as the Spurs fall to 1-3. San Antonio will hit the road for the second game of a back-to-back in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz.
Play of the game
Barnes fought to keep the Spurs in the game in the second half. This steal and slam in the fourth quarter was the last whimper of the Spurs' attempt at a second-half comeback.
going coast to coast pic.twitter.com/p6scM4WrNz
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 31, 2024
Game Notes
- San Antonio's turnover issue persisted in OKC. The Thunder are the best in the league at taking the ball away from their opponents, but the Spurs didn't do themselves any favors. Too many of their errors were unforced, either losing the ball or just throwing it away. It's going to be hard for the Spurs to be a productive offensive team giving the ball away around 20 times a game.
- Jeremy Sochan continues to be one of the Spurs more reliable offensive players. He had 17 points and 9 rebounds in the loss. It's not conventional, and his lack of shooting creates some issues in the half court, but his effort and strength have gotten him some good looks around the basket. His individual performances have been solid, but the Spurs still haven't figured out how to get he and Wembanyama to thrive while sharing the court together.
- Branham has been making the most of his minutes with Tre Jones and Devin Vassell missing time. He had 15 points and shot 3-4 from three. Branham has proven he can create offense when given the chance. If he can find some consistency, and be a factor on the defensive end, he could earn himself some minutes when players return from injury.
- Speaking of Vassell and Jones, the Spurs clearly missed both of them on Wednesday. San Antonio doesn't have enough offensive creators without them. Vassell provides a shooting and off-the-dribble scoring threat that can take some of the pressure off Wembanyama. Jones brings a steady hand to the second unit, and can make some chaos happen with his point of attack defense and ability to push the pace offensively.
- Blake Wesley has struggled to start the season. Teams have figured him out defensively. They don't mind if he shoots three pointers (often times leaving him wide open to double another player) and know he can only hurt them with his speed. He had 5 points on 2-5 shooting on Wednesday. His defensive impact is still there, and that's enough to keep him in the rotation.
