We Speak NBA
Gilgeous-Alexander Scores 32 as Thunder Beat Spurs 116-104 in Conference Finals Rematch
Oklahoma City built a 26-point lead and held off San Antonio in the first meeting between the teams since last spring’s Western Conference Finals.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder opened their season with a 116-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night at Frost Bank Center, in the teams’ first meeting since San Antonio won Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals in May.
Oklahoma City outscored San Antonio 31-16 in the second quarter to take a 65-44 halftime lead, going up by as many as 26 points. Jared McCain added 20 points on six 3-pointers, Chet Holmgren scored 14, and Jalen Williams finished with 12.
Tensions flared in the second quarter when De’Aaron Fox received a Flagrant Foul 1 for tossing Holmgren to the court. Four players — Fox’s teammate Victor Wembanyama and Oklahoma City’s Jaylin Williams, Jalen Williams and Kenrich Williams — were assessed technical fouls in the ensuing dust-up. The Thunder answered with a 9-0 run, then scored 13 straight points to build a 59-33 lead.
Wembanyama finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots, but shot just 1-for-13 from the field. His only basket was an alley-oop dunk off a Fox pass at the end of the third quarter, after he had missed his first 12 shots. Stephon Castle led San Antonio with 24 points, Dylan Harper added 18, and Fox scored 14.
The Spurs cut the deficit to seven in the fourth quarter on a Castle 3-pointer with 4:18 remaining, but Gilgeous-Alexander and McCain — who combined for 25 second-half points — made the plays down the stretch to close it out.
Up next: The Thunder host the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night. The Spurs host the Houston Rockets in Austin on Friday night.
The NBA fined Boston Celtics star Paul George $2,000 for flopping during the Celtics’ 121-113 season-opening loss to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night, the league announced Wednesday.
“BOS’s Paul George was assessed a postgame Flopping fine of $2,000 upon league office review,” the NBA said in its announcement. The play under review came with about three minutes remaining in regulation, when George bumped Pistons guard Duncan Robinson in transition and went down hard despite light contact.
The penalty adds an unusual footnote to an otherwise historic debut. George scored 38 points in his first regular-season game with Boston, setting a franchise record for points scored in a Celtics debut. He shot 12-of-21 from the field and 7-of-12 from three-point range, adding five rebounds, three assists and five steals. He became just the sixth player in NBA history to record at least 38 points, five rebounds, five steals and seven made three-pointers in a single game.
George’s big night was spoiled by Boston’s collapse. The Celtics led Detroit by as many as 22 points before the Pistons stormed back with a 28-3 fourth-quarter surge to win 121-113. Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren scored 22 points apiece for Detroit, while Duncan Robinson scored 21, including 15 in the fourth quarter.
George joined the Celtics this offseason in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers. Under the NBA’s flopping rules, the league office can assess penalties after reviewing game footage even when officials do not call a violation during the game, with fines escalating for repeat offenders. The $2,000 fine does not include a suspension and does not affect George’s availability for Boston’s next game.
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