SAN ANTONIO – The Spurs did what the Spurs do, especially at home these days. The Thunder threw a few punches back, but didn’t have enough to make it a fight, falling 116-102 on the road.
Much like Thursday night’s loss at home to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Thunder had a much better handle on the game, and the scoreboard, in quarters two through four. The problem was the first quarter, when the Spurs blitzed the Thunder over the first six minutes and immediately built a double-digit lead with a 15-0 run midway through the period. The Spurs shot 10-for-12 to start the game, while the Thunder went 2-for-13 during that same time span.
“Early in the first quarter they were kind of just running script, kind of juts going through the motions,” said Russell Westbrook. “The rest of the game I thought we did a better job.”
Much of the damage done by the Spurs came on midrange jump shots, as for the night San Antonio attempted 29 non-paint two-point jump shots. Against the other 28 foes in the league, the Thunder would be ecstatic to force its opponent into those generally low-efficiency shots, but tonight the Spurs started 10-for-13 and made 15 for the night. LaMarcus Aldridge in particular was a handful early, hitting all 10 of his made baskets in the first half on his way to 27 points.
Up until the final couple minutes with the reserves in, San Antonio shot 60 percent on those mid-range jumpers. For perspective, even the Spurs, who attempt more non-paint two’s than any team in the league, typically only shoot 42 percent on those shots.
“They lead the league, that’s what they do,” said Russell Westbrook, who scored 19 points to go with 9 rebounds and 8 assists. “If that’s what they do, you gotta be able to adjust what they do and how to best benefit our defense and how we play.”
“They made some tough shots. We have to give them credit and move on to the next one,” added fellow point guard Dennis Schröder. “The bigs did a great job contesting the shots from Aldridge. That’s the reason he’s an All-Star. We couldn’t stop him tonight.”
Another backbreaker for the Thunder throughout the night was the defensive glass, an area of focus throughout the entire season for Donovan’s club. For the game, both teams grabbed 11 offensive rebounds but the Spurs capitalized at a ridiculous rate, shooting 9-for-11 for 23 points compared to just 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting on the Thunder’s second chances.
“They killed us on the offensive rebounds and got second shots,” said guard Terrance Ferguson. “That’s where they really took off on us and we didn’t really punch back as hard as we should.”
Despite the rough start, the Thunder’s second unit settled in during the second quarter, getting a nice boost from reserve guard Raymond Felton. After hitting a desperation three-pointer at the end of the shot clock, Felton made his next three shots on his way to 13 points for the game as one of six Thunder players in double figures. The Thunder managed to cut the lead to four at 54-50 and made it a five-point game early in the third quarter by stunting and playing games off the ball with LaMarcus Aldridge on his post ups. In the second half, Aldridge went 0-for-4 from the field.
“(Aldridge) has such a tough move to guard anyway. It’s a fadeaway, baseline jump shot and he holds it so high. It’s ridiculous. He makes them at a high clip,” began center Steven Adams, who notched a 17-point, 13-rebound double-double.
“One of the things is just trying to mess up the rhythm and also trap and give (Aldridge) something to think about,” Adams continued. “If he has something to think about, then maybe that can throw him off a bit. We kind of forced him into an area where he wasn’t quite as fluid with that move, a little choppy.”
With a chance to break through, the Thunder missed out on capitalizing by turning the ball over five times in the first six-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter. Those giveaways quelled the momentum Donovan’s group had coming out of the locker room and set the table for the Spurs to get to its most deadly weapon – the three-point line.
After building the lead back out gradually, the Spurs ripped off makes on 4-of-6 three-point shots to start the fourth quarter and the lead swelled to 19, putting this one out of reach for good.
The loss made it four straight defeats for the Thunder, and five in the last six contests as the team dropped into the fourth spot in the incredibly tight and competitive Western Conference playoff race. The Thunder plays the Memphis Grizzlies at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Sunday for the second night of a back-to-back.
WATCH HIGHLIGHTS: