By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Oklahoma City Thunder out-maneuvered the San Antonio Spurs during their Western Conference matchup, 127-89, to extend their winning streak to three straight games in the ongoing NBA regular season on April 11, 2024.
With the much-needed win, the Thunder just equalized the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 55-25 win-loss record, to help them secure the third spot in the Western Conference.
The Thunder quickly blew the game wide open in the first quarter as they built a commanding 23-point lead after the first 12 minutes of action.
Without the presence of their franchise player Victor Wembanyama who had to sit out due to right ankle injury management, the Thunder just schooled the Spurs and won all scoring battles from the first to the fourth quarter.
With 12 players for Oklahoma all entering the scoring column, the balanced scoring attack proved to be too much for the Spurs and could only watch them balloon their lead to as much as 40 points.
The returning Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a handful for the Spurs as the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) candidate dropped 26 points, six rebounds, and five assists in just 26 minutes of action.
The Canadian superstar picked up where he left off from their come-from-behind win over the Sacramento Kings and shot an efficient 10/18 from the field including five perfect trips to the free-throw line.
Meanwhile, Josh Giddey recorded a near triple-double stat line of 20 markers, 12 rebounds, seven dimes, and a steal, to backstop Alexander.
The Spurs failed to pull off a comeback in the second half and already waved the white flag with still a full fourth quarter set to kick off in the game.
Zach Collins was the only player for San Antonio to reach the 20-digit scoring mark and added seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal.
With their NBA post-season seeding on the line, the Thunder will look to sweep their remaining regular-season games against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Dallas Mavericks.
