Oklahoma City (4-0), clamping down on a Spurs squad with its top-ranked defense, used an 18-2 run in the first quarter to stake itself to a comfortable lead that was not threatened in a 105-93 victory. The Thunder started white hot from three (14 first half makes), while many San Antonio forays stalled out deep in the paint with 2-3 defenders lurking nearby. Chet Holmgren got the better of his more heralded counterpart throughout much of the first half with 15 points and two blocks, while Victor Wembanyama had his worst output of the young season.

San Antonio (1-3) was led again by Jeremy Sochan (17 points and 9 rebounds) accompanied by grizzled veterans Harrison Barnes (18 points and 4 rebounds) and Chris Paul (14 points and 9 assists). The team let Wembanyama (6 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks) down by not being able to find him in advantageous spots in the halfcourt, which was not helped by him getting bogged down by his own frustrations. Malaki Branham chipped in 15 points off the bench.

The Thunder were led by Holmgren (19 points and 5 rebounds) who paced four starters in double figures – Luguentz Dort (20 points and 6 rebounds), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (18 points and 5 assists), and Jalen Williams (12 points and 8 assists) — a group that thoroughly outplayed their counterparts.

The visitors had considerable difficulty getting through the lane amidst a sea of Thunder arms, and settled for jumpers with many of them clanging off the rim. Oklahoma City’s success from three allowed them to settle into the catbird seat. While the Spurs steadied themselves and kept OKC off the boards over the last two minutes of the first, they still ended a difficult opening frame down seven.

The Thunder (editor’s note: like a bad case of dysentery – JRW) made life difficult for San Antonio at one both ends, while shooting confidently and brazenly from distance in their halfcourt offense. The Spurs’ deficit ballooned to 19 before they found a veteran line-up that could somewhat deter the hopeful contenders. Chris Paul’s timely shooting staved off OKC running away with things, but the Thunder still went to the half up 59-44.

The Thunder started the second half by attacking the basket at-will. Holmgren tagged Wembanyama with an elbow to the face on a drive, and Harrison Barnes’ fadeaway brought San Antonio within 11. Behind Barnes and Paul, the Spurs managed to impressively win the quarter 26-23 despite Oklahoma City’s astounding success from distance.

Observations

• With the stirring Celtics / Pacers tilt spilling into overtime, the Spurs / Thunder telecast started with San Antonio up 10-7.
• OKC is forcing a turnover on one of every five possessions, per Zach Kram of The Ringer. They thusly generated countless deflections and steals in triumph tonight.
• Those SATX uniforms are pretty meh.
• With the Spurs being on the national airwaves again, we (well, mainly I) need to get used to the longer television timeouts.
• It’s these type of tough road games where Barnes needs to more forcefully assert himself on the offensive end – and he ended up doing that!
• I lost count of the times that Tim Legler and Dave Pasch commented on San Antonio’s suboptimal offense.
• This might have been the first game this season that felt a little too big for Stephon Castle.
• Victor Ease: Not sure how to feel about Wembanyama stationed on the free throw line (like Dirk Nowitzki used to). While he is able to see the floor well from that perch, he can’t punish the defense with that mid-range jumper yet.
• Sequence of the Game: After Zach Collins emphatically turned away Aaron Wiggin’s dunk attempt at the start of the second period, Malaki Branham’s connected from the wing.
• In a fast-paced opening handful of minutes, the Spurs briefly held a small lead. Jalen William’s steal of Paul’s crosscourt pass and breakaway dunk drew Pop’s ire. San Antonio had trouble converting its looks from the perimeter, while Holmgren hit two early ones of his own. As the Spurs’ field goal drought spanned nine attempts, OKC extended out to a 20-10 advantage. Zach Collins’ three and a spinning lay-up by Blake Wesley fended off an early blowout. The Thunder had the Spurs down 26-19 after one.
• San Antonio managed to get a pair of shot-clock violations on OKC late in the first and at the start of the second. Wembanyama tumbled to the floor with his defender, and Jalen Williams found a streaking Holmgren for a transition dunk. A visibly frustrated and possibly injured Wembanyama went straight to the locker room. Holmgren’s three after an inbounds turnover and Ajay Mitchell’s three put the Spurs down 19. After Holmgren inexplicably tried throwing himself a lob off the backboard, Paul hit a pair of threes to bring San Antonio within ten. Paul’s third three was answered very quickly by Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort, and the Spurs were fortunate to be down only 15 at the break.
• OKC held a lay-up parade to start the second half to match their biggest lead at 19. Julian Champagnie encouragingly hit a corner three, and Barnes’ driving dunk brought San Antonio within two touchdowns. Dort’s second uncontested three of the frame put the Thunder up 19 again. Paul hit a patented mid-range jumper and found Sochan for an acrobatic lay-up. Barnes’ wing three brought the Spurs within eight as they mounted their first serious push. After San Antonio’s finest defensive stand of the game, Keldon Johnson’s three trimmed their deficit to seven.
• Malaki Branham’s bankshot three again brought San Antonio within seven to start the fourth, which ended up being the closest that they would get. No other Spurs could help Branham mount a comeback attempt in the stanza.

San Antonio heads west for a road SEGABABA against Lauri Markkanen and the Utah Jazz tomorrow night at 8:00 PM CDT.

Happy Halloween Pounders!

On Wednesday night, the San Antonio Spurs face off against the undefeated Oklahoma City Thunder in what promises to be an exciting early-season matchup of young, elite talent.

With both teams spotlighting budding stars, all eyes will be on the showdown between San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama and OKC’s Chet Holmgren.

The Spurs, at 1-2, have leaned on Wembanyama’s defensive versatility and shot-making, while the 3-0 Thunder are showcasing premier offense and solid perimeter play led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Expect a game that highlights speed, shooting, and high-level schematics as these teams push their way up the Western Conference standings.

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Live Updates:

(most recent at the top)

HALFTIME: Thunder 59, Spurs 44.

Second Quarter:

• 2:05, 2Q: Chris Paul makes a 25-footer. Spurs have cut the lead to 13. Thunder 50, Spurs 37,

• 6:21, 2Q: Thunder stringing together a run here. They’ve pushed their lead to 19. Holmgren is up to 15 points. Thunder 45, Spurs 26.

• 8:26, 2Q: Four buckets in the span of a minute for these teams from the 10:00-9:00 mark. Branham makes a jumper, Isaiah Joe nails a 23-footer, Johnson makes a layup, Holmgren makes a mid-range shot. Thunder 35, Spurs 26.

• 10:43, 2Q: Thunder 28, Spurs 19. San Antonio take a timeout.

• First points of the quarter go to Holmgren and the Thunder.

First Quarter:

• END OF THE 1Q: Thunder 26, Spurs 19. Sochan, Barnes and Wembanyama lead the way at the break with four points a piece. Holmgren leads all scorers with six points. Spurs are shooting a putrid 1-for-10 from downtown. 7-for-24 overall, 29% from the floor.

• 3:52, 1Q: Thunder have extended their lead to 10. They’re 5-for-10 from three early on.

• 5:35, 1Q: Thunder 15, Spurs 10.

• Holmgren fouls Wembanyama. Wembanyama makes both at the line, and the Spurs are on the board.

• First points of the game belong to the Thunder’s Lu Dortz on an assist from Holmgren.

• Chet Holmgren blocks Sochan’s layup after Wembanyama wins the tipoff and we’re underway.

Pregame:

• Starting Lineup for San Antonio: Chris Paul, Julian Champagnie, Harrison Barnes, Jeremy Sochan, Victor Wembanyama.

• Tipoff from Oklahoma City is set for 8:30 p.m. CT.

Notebook: Spurs Torched by 3-Point Shooting, But Find Silver Linings

It Takes A Castle: Stephon Castle’s On-Court Impact Begins Off It

Julian Champagnie’s Approach to Begin New Season? ‘Just Keep Shooting’

NORMAN — In Oklahoma basketball’s preparation for its first year in the Southeastern Conference, senior Jalon Moore and Sam Godwin became the team’s comfort — and Porter Moser’s.

“Retention is so big, not just in basketball, but in a lot of the sports in college,” Moser said last Wednesday during the team’s first press conference of his fourth year as OU’s head men’s coach. “That’s been a challenge in the NIL and transfer portal era. Having Jalon Moore and Sam Godwin come back — them, unanimously people on the team (believe) those were two of the toughest guys. Them and Rivaldo Soares, toughest guys (last year) — it was great to have those guys.” The loyalty, the vision that they have. They attacked the summer and getting better.” 

Moore, who transferred to Oklahoma from Georgia Tech last year and finished as the team’s third-leading scorer with 11.2 points per game, entered his name into the NBA Draft pool but withdrew it before the June 16 deadline.

Godwin, a fifth-year from Ada, Oklahoma who played on scholarship his first two years at Wofford, walked-on at Oklahoma and earned a scholarship his second year, averaged 6.7 points and 5.2 rebounds last year.

“Those eight or nine (returning players) are telling the new guys, ‘This is how we do things, how hard we go. This is our standard,’” Moser said. “Jalon and Sam have been doing that. The retention of those two was key for us, because they’re our toughest guys. . . [We’re] going to need that in the SEC.”

The Sooners did not do themselves a favor by losing six of their last eight games but were, regardless, considered one of the NCAA Tournament’s 64-team bracket’s biggest snubs and did not accept their invitation to the National Invitational Tournament. Finding somebody in the Griffin Family Performance Center who wasn’t frustrating last March was impossible.

“This year, I think it’s going be such a grit and burn. I think it’s going to be a gritty team,” Moser said. “I think it’s going to be a team that, like I said, a lot of guys that were crushed on Selection Sunday.”

For Godwin — the team’s hustle — the choice was obvious. 

“It was a pretty easy decision for me (to return for a fifth year),” Godwin said. “Obviously, Oklahoma’s home. It’s where I grew up. It’s where I dreamed of playing my whole life, so I never really thought about leaving. I knew if I was going to use my Covid year, I was going to use it here.

“Me and Jalon talked quite a bit. Obviously, we had some players leave, some of our good friends leave. I mean, we both love it here, like, we love coach Moser and everything he’s about, so we just decided we’re going to stick it out, play another year with him and hope to make the tournament,” Godwin said.

For Moore — undoubtedly Moser’s most valuable weapon — the decision held some nuance. A legitimate pro prospect, Moore elected for the draft process, but Moser held the door open.

“We both told him, ‘If this process leads to you staying in it and getting drafted, I’m going to be the biggest guy to give you a hug,’” Moser said, ‘“But if not, obviously, we want and need you back.’ 

“He said, ‘That’s my plan. I’m coming back if I don’t get the nod that I’m going to get drafted.’ He stayed true to everything he said. He’s an unbelievable young man, and I think he’s going to do great things for us, not only at Oklahoma but beyond that because of his foundation and character.”

Godwin and Moore offered each other his unwavering support, and after it was clear both would be returning, they turned their collective focus towards building a winner in Norman. They had a brief taste of that success, winning 13 of their first 14 games and peaking at No. 7 in last year’s AP Poll. The story of summer 2024 was their crucial leadership as Moser’s practice enforcers.

“Sam’s my brother,” Moore said. “What you do every day is going to show in the game, so it’s kind of just been, like, keeping that approach of attack each other every day, go at each other every day, push each other every day. If I see you down or you see me down, like, hold me accountable because we need that for this team to succeed.

“To me, Jalon’s the heartbeat of the team. He comes in every day and brings in an elite level of energy, gets us going at practice. Obviously, he’s a freak athlete, another high-motor guy,” Godwin said. “The way he’s worked, I’ve seen him work every day. He lifts in the morning before practice, after practice. He’s in here working every day. His game’s grown a lot. I know he has aspirations to play in the NBA, and with the work I’ve seen him put in, he’s going to get there.

“The best teams are player-led teams, so I think us just being able to attack and take on that role is just going to help us as a team team, for sure, a lot,” Moore said.

The Sooners open the 2024-25 season Monday, Nov. 4 against Lindenwood, the first of a four-game homestand, after which they will compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis at the Imperial Arena in Paradise Islands, Bahamas from Nov. 27-29. OU will play its first true road game and first conference game against Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday, Jan. 4.

“People ask me what it’s like to be in the SEC. I’m so excited to have a home,” Moser said. “The last three years I’ve gone to meetings, I’ve done different things with me knowing that everyone knew Oklahoma was going to compete in the SEC. Felt great in the meetings. Felt great at media day. We’ve got a home and an elite home at that. So to get young guys ready for that, it’s gotta be a physical summer. It’s got to be in the weight room, and it has been. But it’s mentally ready for the physicality and the speed of this level with older guys.”