Should OKC Still Be Worried About San Antonio?

The Oklahoma City Thunder have slain their Goliath, as they took down the San Antonio Spurs 119-98 on Tuesday night. The Thunder have finally shown they can beat the Spurs, but with the season series at 3-1 in favor of San Antonio, are the worries for OKC over?

It might’ve only been one win, but the Thunder won convincingly. It seemed like the Thunder were in for another long night with San Antonio, but they blew the game wide open by scoring 40 in the third quarter.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder’s effort, scoring 34 points and tying a career high in blocks with four. Jalen Williams added 20 points and looked like his old self once again, being a true second option for the Oklahoma City squad.

OKC also showcased why it is considered the best defensive team in the league. The Thunder held the Spurs to just 98 points, their lowest of the season. They also caused San Antonio to turn the ball over 12 times, with seven of those turnovers being Thunder steals. To top this amazing defensive showcase off, OKC had a season high of 11 blocks.

The media were in a frenzy every previous meeting when San Antonio came out victorious, but now it's clear that the Spurs aren’t the Thunder’s weakness. Of course, all doubts can’t go completely out of the window.

The Thunder need to continue to improve on rebounding, as they allowed San Antonio to grab 12 offensive rebounds. OKC has allowed 11.4 offensive rebounds per game this season, which can’t be the case when the Thunder averages the second-fewest offensive rebounds per game in the league at 9.3.

Oklahoma City also has to continue to improve on its shooting from beyond the arc. Tuesday night’s matchup was the only game of the four in which OKC has had a better shooting percentage from three than San Antonio. The Thunder have a better average than San Antonio as they shoot 35.6% from three compared to the Spurs 34.6%, but must continue to outperform them when it matters.

The regular season series still leans in favor of the Spurs, but the Thunder shouldn’t be worried. The two teams will meet once again on Feb. 4 for the last time in the regular season. If both the Thunder and Spurs live up to their current rankings, we could see a conference finals that has been just as exciting as every regular-season matchup.

In this case, Oklahoma City would have playoff experience and possibly the back-to-back MVP on its side. So although all doubt might not be gone when the Thunder face San Antonio, the Spurs have a ways to go before they will truly be on the level of the reigning champions.