Spurs Outlast Thunder in Double-Overtime, Win Thriller 154-147
The Oklahoma City Thunder (25-16) dropped their third straight on Thursday night in San Antonio, falling to the Spurs (24-19) in double-overtime by a final score of 154-147. Despite Russell Westbrook’s 24 points, 24 assists, and 13 rebounds — and 119 points from the Thunder starting lineup — LaMarcus Aldridge exploded for a career-high 56 points and the Spurs hit 16-of-19 from long range to take the victory.
Full Highlights:
The Spurs scored a season-high 70 points in the first half behind perfect 10-of-10 shooting from long distance — riding Aldridge and Marco Belinelli to a 70-63 advantage at the break. Their three-point onslaught continued after halftime, as they hit four more to start 14-of-14 before finally misfiring. San Antonio took a commanding 13-point lead into the fourth quarter after shooting 61 percent in the third. Though the Thunder offense was firing on all cylinders, San Antonio — particularly Aldridge — was able to get whatever they wanted on the offensive end.
Oklahoma City turned the tide early in the fourth, as Jerami Grant and Dennis Schroder sparked a 21-9 start to tie the game 114-114 with 6:15 remaining. Despite Westbrook and Paul George combining to shoot 2-of-8 in the frame, the rest of the team shot 13-of-18 (72.2 percent) to outscore the Spurs 37-25 and send the game to overtime when Westbrook found Grant for an alley-oop to tie it 130-130 with seconds remaining. Grant and Schroder combined to score 17 points in the pivotal quarter. Terrance Ferguson shot 2-of-2 from long range in the fourth — part of his season-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting from deep.
Though Adams left the game with a sprained ankle midway through the fourth, he made his triumphant return in the first overtime. George and Westbrook again struggled shooting, combining to go 1-of-7 in the first overtime — but Grant and Adams scored eight points on 4-of-4 shooting to keep pace with Aldridge and the Spurs. An Adams dunk off a feed from Westbrook tied it 141-141 to send it to double-overtime.
The Thunder’s rally came up short in the second overtime, as OKC shot just 1-of-9 (11.1 percent) in the final five minutes while Aldridge continued his dominance. The six-time All-Star scored seven points in double-OT to finally give the Spurs a victory that appeared over before a furious comeback attempt by the Thunder. The two teams will turn around and play again on Saturday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Stats
Highlights
Russell Westbrook:
Terrance Ferguson:
Notebook
LMA. LaMarcus Aldridge was a man among boys in this one. LMA scored a career-high 56 points on 20-of-33 shooting in what is likely the greatest performance of his career. He’s long been known as a Thunder killer and he proved it yet again tonight.
The Threes. San Antonio started 14-of-14 from the three-point line and it appeared as though they’d run away with the game as a result. In total, they hit 16-of-19 for a blistering 84.2 percent conversion rate. It’s incredible this game is as close as it was considering how well they shot the ball.
The Brodie. Russell Westbrook was unreal in San Antonio, scoring 24 points, dropping a career-high 24 assists, grabbing 10 rebounds, and shooting 11-of-22 from the field. He only turned it over three times in his 50 minutes of action — though, to be fair, he shot just 2-of-9 in the fourth quarter and both overtimes. Regardless — 24 assists and a very reasonable night shooting the ball. Shot 2-of-5 from the free throw line, so that’s still a thing.
PG13. Paul George scored 30 points on 11-of-25 shooting — adding eight rebounds and three steals in his 47 minutes. Like Westbrook, he struggled after the third quarter, shooting just 2-of-9 in the fourth quarter and both overtimes. Not his best night.
Love for Ferg. Though he had a turnover in the second overtime that effectively ended all hopes of a miracle, Terrance Ferguson looked like an elite 3-and-D guy for one night in Texas. He shot 7-of-10 from long range for a season-high 21 points and had a hand in DeMar DeRozan’s 7-of-22 shooting effort. Ferg is now 11-of-14 from deep over the last two games.
Jerami. It’s a shame the Thunder lost this game, because Jerami Grant had the game of his life. He scored a career-high 25 points, added 12 rebounds, and swatted three shots in his 44 minutes. He shot 10-of-20 from the field, grabbed five offensive rebounds, and was a big part of the Thunder’s comeback in the fourth quarter. Outstanding effort from JG in this one.
The Other Guys. Seven Spurs scored in double-figures, including Aldridge (56), Derrick White (23), Belinelli (19), DeRozan (16), Bryn Forbes (14), Patty Mills (14), and Davis Bertans (12). They shot 56 percent on the evening and hit 84 percent of their three-point attempts.
Adams Injury. Though he ultimately returned, Steven Adams went directly to the locker room after injuring his ankle midway through the fourth. He played all of the first overtime and the tail end of the second — only checking in after Grant fouled out. The ESPN broadcast said he had already been diagnosed with a sprained ankle, so his status for Saturday’s rematch is worth monitoring.
