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The Spurs will have to settle for a split after two games in Oklahoma City. Despite doing a good job of keeping the game close and giving themselves a chance to win, fatigue and an injury to Dylan Harper that depleted their depth even more were too much to overcome against an opponent that found contributions from multiple sources. After the 122-113 loss, the series is tied at one heading to San Antonio.
The intensity from Game 1 didn’t go anywhere. The start of the second matchup of the series featured the physicality and shot-making that created the instant classic series opener, but the fatigue from that long battle began to affect the action. Both coaches rested their stars earlier than usual and tried to have their benches sop up minutes. The Spurs had Castle carry the lineup when Harper and Wembanyama rested, but while the second-year guard scored, he was also turnover-prone once again. The lack of ball handling caused by De’Aaron Fox’s injury was palpable and led to some surprising Jordan McLaughlin minutes. Despite San Antonio not playing as well as they could when some of their top guys were off the floor, the opening quarter was up-and-down, with lots of lead changes, and ended tied.
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While neither team could break the parity earlier, the Thunder had one of their typical run fueled by turnovers caused that allowed them to create a buffer. Great drives by San Antonio’s guards, including a thunderous dunk by Castle, kept the offense alive for the Silver and Black, and their commitment to playing strong defense and running whenever possible prevented the lead from ballooning. But Oklahoma City looked in control. Foul trouble for Wembanyama, who was getting mauled by Isaiah Hartenstein with few calls to show for it, along with the fatigue that often showed itself from the shallower team, allowed the home team to get better looks while forcing tough ones on the other end. There were some good individual stretches, but the Spurs just couldn’t find fluidity on offense, and their defense showed cracks. At the break, the Thunder were up just 11 points, but the lead felt larger.
After such…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/shorthanded-spurs-fight-until-end-043004526.html
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Publish date : 2026-05-21 04:30:00
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