My thoughts on a series-tying Game 6 win for the San Antonio Spurs.
I couched my Game 6 prediction in my last post, understanding that each game can take on its own identity this deep into the playoffs. The San Antonio Spurs seemed exhausted in Game 5, and it was going to be interesting to see what reservoir they would tap into in order to win Game 6 and tie the series back up.
Well, they figured out something. Perhaps it was their raucous home-crowd. Perhaps it was just their competitive nature galvanizing them. Whatever it was, it worked, as the Spurs prevailed over the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-91 on Thursday night.
San Antonio’s three-point barrage in the first quarter was huge in setting the tone for the game. The Spurs knocked down eight treys in the period, while their defense held the Thunder to one made three. Getting out to a 35-22 lead on a juggernaut like Oklahoma City is so important, because you know they’re going to push back eventually.
That push-back came in the second quarter, as OKC won the period 31-25 to close the gap to 60-53 at halftime. But the Spurs managed to storm out of the locker room and have a masterful 32-13 third quarter. That all but cemented their reservations for Seven on Saturday.
Again, I’m not sure what the San Antonio Spurs directly drew from to be this aggressive in Game 6, but this re-found aggression was the major key to victory. Victor Wembanyama bounced back from his rough Game 5 with a game-high 28 points. He went 4-of-9 on his threes, but most importantly got his groove back in the interior, as he went 6-of-11 in the paint.
Dylan Harper (18 points off the bench) and Devin Vassell (12 points) also bounced back and had strong contributions. In Game 5 they combined for 11 points on 3-of-16 shooting. In Game 6 they combined for 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting.
Oklahoma City, meanwhile, felt the brunt of San Antonio’s aggression. The first key is that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had another brutal scoring game. He comes out of Game 6 scoring just 15 points. That’s the fewest points he’s scored in any game since he dropped 14 points in Game 3 of last year’s Conference Finals.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s paltry scoring came off of 6-of-18 shooting from the field while only attempting three free throws (he made all three). Shai was a solid 4-of-8 from mid-range, but went a non-confrontational 2-of-5 in the paint.
The Spurs have actually done a great job neutralizing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander throughout this series. His 37.9 percent from the field and 26.1 percent from three in these Conference Finals are the lowest he’s ever shot in a playoff series in his career.
In OKC’s three wins, two of them (Games 3 and 5) saw Shai take a double-digit amount of free throws (12 in Game 3, 17 in Game 5). The other win, Game 2, saw him be aggressive in both the mid-range (7-of-11) and in the paint (10 attempts). So either way, Shai has to remain vigilant on his drives in order to help his team win games. He certainly did not do that on Thursday night.
So it comes down to Saturday night: Game 7 for a trip to the Finals. Legacies, glory, and pride are all on the line here. I really think it comes down to which team — namely their stars — will be more aggressive for 48 (or more) minutes. The Thunder and Spurs are both smart, hyper-competitive teams, so hopefully Game 7 plays out more like Game 1 and less like Games 2 through 6.
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