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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made some puzzling remarks about one of his Thunder teammates following the team's win over the Spurs.
The San Antonio Spurs struggled to keep their defense in check, especially in the second half of the Western Conference Finals Game 3 as the OKC Thunder was in cruise control en route to a 123-108 win over Friday night.
The Spurs allowed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to fish for fouls and earn 12 free throws just in the second half alone. This year’s Most Valuable Player went on to make his foul shots en route to a 26-point performance in the Thunder’s victory.
For Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson, there is nothing to blame for the Spurs’ fouls than his players, who he said were undisciplined in defense.
“I think probably half of them were from undisciplined first off the floor,” Johnson said of Gilgeous-Alexander’s free throws. “He got us out of position and took advantage of it. Those 12 free throws helped out a lot and I can remember at least a few in my head right now that were undisciplined on our end.”
Mitch Johnson on Shai’s FTs:
“I think probably half of them were from undisciplined first off the floor. He got us out of position and took advantage of it. Those 12 free throws helped out a lot and I can remember at least a few in my head right now that were undisciplined on
It was a fair observation from Johnson as Gilgeous-Alexander feasted on the Spurs’ handsiness and vulnerability to fall on pump fakes.
It was also a contrary approach from what opposing squads had been saying about the Thunder in the playoffs after being on the receiving end of Gilgeous-Alexander’s foul-baiting brilliance.
Gilgeous-Alexander again struggled from the field, only putting up a 6-for-17 shooting clip while dishing out 12 assists. He only shot four times from the 3-point line and made two of them.
As a team, the Thunder picked up 28 fouls while the Spurs got 25 whistles. Both teams also shot the same number of free throws at 33, with the Thunder making 28 of them, just one more than the Spurs.
Stephon Castle, who has been Gilgeous-Alexander’s primary defender throughout the series, picked up five fouls in Game 3 while Devin Vassell was whistled for four, mostly against the Thunder superstar.
Now, the Spurs are forced to go back to the drawing board after the Thunder clicked in Game 3 and snagged the series lead at 2-1.
GettySpurs’ bench got outplayed.
Beyond what happened with Gilgeous-Alexander, the Spurs were outplayed by the Thunder’s bench throughout Game 3.
The Spurs’ bench only had 23 points, compared to the Thunder’s 76. It was the most bench points by any team in a conference finals game in NBA history.
Four players scored in double digits for the Thunder off the bench. Jared McCain had 24 points, Jaylin Williams got 18, Alex Caruso chipped in 15, and Cason Wallace contributed 11.
For the Spurs, no player scored in double digits off the bench, with Dylan Harper being held at just six points in 17 minutes two days after hurting his adductor in Game 2.
The Thunder is back in control against the Spurs.
After Game 1, many believed the Spurs had cruise control of the series, but with back-to-back wins in Games 2 and 3, the Thunder is back in the driver’s seat.
However, both squads still have to deal with numerous injuries on their roster for the rest of the series. For the Spurs, they are Harper and De’Aaron Fox, two of their point guards. For the Thunder, it is Jalen Williams, who did not play in Game 3, and Ajay Mitchell, who left the floor in the third quarter.
Game 4 of the series wil be on Sunday in San Antonio.
Rob Andrew Lo Rob Andrew Lo is a writer at Heavy Sports and is covering the NBA. He has covered local, collegiate, professional and international sports in various sites. He was the sports editor of The Varsitarian, the official student publication of University of Santo Tomas, and a sports, entertainment, and lifestyle writer for Rappler. A Journalism graduate from the University of Santo Tomas, he has built his voice across both collegiate and international platforms, previously contributing NBA coverage to Fansided and Sportskeeda. More about Rob Andrew Lo
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