It was billed as the battle of the NBA’s two leading Rookie of the Year contenders, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama and Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren.
That personal duel though quickly faded into the background as the Thunder ran out big winners on Wednesday, dominating the Spurs on the way to a statement 123-87 win.
MVP chants broke out at Paycom Center for star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored a game-high 28 points to go with six rebounds, five assists and a staggering seven steals.
As a whole the Thunder had 19 steals — a franchise record.
Giddey, meanwhile, had his best game of the season as he finished on 18 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.
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Giddey made a strong start to Wednesday’s game, recording four points, one assist and a rebound in the opening five minutes as San Antonio took a slender 11-9 lead.
The Australian has spoken about putting an emphasis on playing with aggression from the jump and did just that against the Spurs, cutting towards the rim and finishing through contact off a Holmgren pass for the first points of the game.
Holmgren, having flashed his playmaking ability, then showed his more obvious value on the other side of the floor as he blocked a Jeremy Sochan shot, although Zach Collins flew by for the offensive rebound and finish.
A few quick points from Sochan put San Antonio ahead 9-5 before Giddey once again aggressively attacked the basket, this time driving towards the rim for the layup.
Of course, Giddey’s highlight-reel passes haven’t just disappeared and the 21-year-old reminded everyone just how special his court vision is as he whipped a pass to Jalen Williams for the dunk.
“Just an outstanding pass for the dunk,” Stan van Gundy said in commentary.
At that point the Spurs called the first timeout of the game, leading 11-9 after five minutes.
Gilgeous-Alexander started to really insert himself into the action when the game resumed, adding four quick points in the space of 30 seconds in between a Collins layup.
That continued right up until the end of the first quarter as a sloppy San Antonio team started to struggle with turnovers, seeing Gilgeous-Alexander score back-to-back buckets.
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Still, what started as a seesawing affair between two teams on the rise largely ended that way too as OKC held a 28-25 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Thunder opened the second on a 14-3 run to build the biggest lead of the game and while the Spurs were able to somewhat close the deficit, turnovers continued to be a problem.
San Antonio was able to work its way back into the game — and eventually the lead — going up 49-48 before a few turnovers once more gifted Oklahoma City easy points.
Then there were defensive breakdowns like the one which saw Giddey grab a defensive board and then go coast-to-coast untouched all the way to the rim for the easy finish.
The Thunder went on a 13-0 into halftime to go up 58-48, ending the half with another Giddey highlight-reel play as the Australian fake-out passed to a cutting Holmgren.
It came off the back of a terrific block from Wembanyama, who had 15 points by halftime, on Holmgren. Giddey had eight points, five assists, two rebounds and a block.
There were still some lessons for Giddey, who passed behind the back for an unaware Holmgren instead of laying it in and subsequently turned the ball over in the third quarter.
As a whole though Wednesday’s game was reflective of the diverse skillset Giddey offers that makes him so valuable for a young Thunder team still trying to figure out its identity.
It was particularly pleasing to see him continuing to lean into using his 6-foot-8 frame more to finish through contact, like he did to cap off a 22-8 run for Oklahoma City as the score blew out.
HARDEN EXPERIMENT OFF TO A SHOCKER AS CLIPS LOSE FIFTH STRAIGHT AFTER WILD FINISH
Wednesday’s (AEDT) Clippers vs Nuggets clash ended in bizarre circumstances when a Paul George game-tying three point attempt in the final seconds was wedged between the rim and backboard.
The Nuggets were able to gain possession from the ensuing jumpball at halfcourt and hang on for a 111-108 win, handing the Clippers their fifth-straight loss.
George was supurb for the Clippers, scoring 35 points while Nikola Jokic again led the way for the defending champs, recording 32 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists.
The Clippers led in the final quarter by as much as seven points after a Kawhi Leonard bucket with six minutes remaining.
However, the Nuggets’ championship class came to the fore while their opponents tried to play as individuals rather than meshing as a unit.
It’s way to early to make any grandiose statements regarding the Clippers’ trade for James Harden, but it isn’t unfair to say that it has been a disastrous first week and a half.
For proof, look no further than the Clippers’ record with Harden. After the tight loss to the Nuggets, they are an incredible 0-5 since acquiring the polarising point guard in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The performance against Denver was an improvement since Harden relocated to Los Angeles, but for a team in an almighty slump, moral victories aren’t going to cut the mustard.
DYSON DANIELS EXCELS IN DEFENSIVE ASSIGNMENT AGAINST MAVERICKS
Elsewhere, Australian Dyson Daniels continues to make the most of his opportunity starting with the New Orleans Pelicans after proving a constant menace on the defensive end in a 131-110 blowout win against the Dallas Mavericks.
Daniels, who had a career-best 17 points in New Orleans’ loss to the Mavericks earlier in the week, got the start once more for the Pelicans and was matched up on Dallas superstar Luka Doncic in the opening quarter.
Daniels had matched up against Doncic in the 136-124 loss and admitted he “got the better of me”. On Wednesday it was a very different story.
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The young Bendigo product’s length and sustained activity on the defensive end was causing all kinds of problems for Doncic, who lit up the Pelicans with 30 points in their last meeting.
This time around though Doncic had four early turnovers, three of which came directly as a result of pressure from Daniels.
Those turnovers proved particularly helpful for New Orleans given its struggles on offence early in Wednesday’s game, with Daniels even airballing a 3-point attempt.
At that point things weren’t looking great for the Pelicans as the Mavericks jumped out to a 7-2 lead, with Daniels forcing a turnover which gave Zion Williamson a clean lane to the rim only for the All-Star forward to lose the ball out of bounds.
The Pelicans may not have got the result that time but the continued energy and effort on the defensive end started to really open things up as New Orleans jumped out to a 23-14 lead at one point.
It wasn’t just Daniels though. It was a team effort sometimes too, with the Pelicans continuing to apply pressure on Doncic in the second quarter as Daniels and Herb Jones double-teamed the Slovenian superstar to block a shot attempt.
Daniels continued to use his length to disrupt passing lanes, forcing Doncic to pass the ball to Derrick Jones Jr. who then had the ball stolen by Brandon Ingram, who in turn found Jordan Hawkins for the finish.
“Dyson just did something on that play that will never show up on the stat sheet,” former NBA player Antonio Daniels said in commentary for the Pelicans broadcast.
“That was the reason they got that steal.”
The Pelicans took a 70-54 lead into halftime, holding Doncic and Kyrie Irving to just 15 points.
Standout rookie Jordan Hawkins, on the other hand, continues to make an immediate impact and had 19 points, three rebounds and two assists from just 18 minutes in the opening half.
As impressive as Daniels was in the first half, it goes without saying that Jones too was just as important on defence while adding 13 points and three assists.
Daniels wasn’t just getting the job done on defence though. He was also helping run the offence and found a leaping Williamson for the emphatic dunk with a pinpoint lob pass.
Daniels finished the game with 10 points, six assists, two rebounds and three steals.
Williamson and Ingram, meanwhile, finally started to find success playing off each other after struggling to co-exist on the floor together in the Pelicans’ five-game losing skid before Wednesday.
Ingram had 25 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals while Williamson had 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Australian Dante Exum was a shining light for the Mavericks off the bench as he finished the game with nine points and two assists.
PACERS POINT GUARD JOINS EXCLUSIVE CLUB
Indiana point guard Tyrese Haliburton became just the fifth player in NBA history to record at least 30 points, 15 assists and zero turnovers in a game as the Pacers snapped the Philadelphia 76ers’ eight-game win streak with a 132-126 road victory.
Haliburton joins elite company in John Stockton, Chris Paul. LeBron James and James Harden as the only players to record such a statline.
The 23-year-old has a whopping 32 assists in his past two games without a turnover. He comfortably leads the league in assists (12.2), which is two a game more than the next best player (Trae Young).
If Haliburton continues on this trajectory, he could go down as one of the best passers of all time.
This is just Haliburton’s second full season in Indiana, after beginning his career with Sacramento in 2020, who selected the point guard with the 12th overall pick in that year’s draft.
He and two other players were traded to the Pacers in February 2022 in exchange for stud big man Domantas Sabonis.
Despite the rapid ascension of Haliburton since relocating to Indiana from sunny Sacramento, the trade is so far considered a rare win/win for both teams with Sabonis leading the Kings back to the playoffs last season – the first time since 2006.
With the win over the 76ers, the Pacers move to 7-4, good for fourth in the Eastern Conference while Philly are tied with the Boston Celtics for the best record in the East (8-2).
Philadelphia centre and reigning MVP Joel Embiid tried in vain, but his 39 points, 12 rebounds and six assists weren’t enough as the 76ers couldn’t slow down Indiana’s high octane offence.
NBA SCORES FOR NOVEMBER 15
Atlanta Hawks 126 @ Detroit Pistons 120
Miami Heat 111 @ Charlotte Hornets 105
Indiana Pacers 132 @ Philadelphia 76ers 126
San Antonio Spurs 87 @ Oklahoma City Thunder 123
Orlando Magic 104 @ Brooklyn Nets 124
Dallas Mavericks 110 @ New Orleans Pelicans 131
Portland Trail Blazers 99 @ Utah Jazz 115
Minnesota Timberwolves 104 @ Golden State Warriors 101
LA Clippers 108 @ Denver Nuggets 111
Memphis Grizzlies 107 @ LA Lakers 134
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