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Philippines, 22 Jul 2026 |
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2026 NBA Playoffs: Gilgeous-Alexander Back to MVP Form as Thunder Top Spurs 122-113 in West Game 2 By Reylan Loberternos PhilBoxing.com Fri, 22 May 2026  Tagbilaran City, Bohol – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered his best performance, yet this NBA Playoffs, propelling the defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder to a crucial victory over the San Antonio Spurs 122-113 in Game 2 of their best-of-seven Western Conference Finals series on Wednesday night (Thursday morning, Philippine time) at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The reigning back-to-back league MVP finished with 30 points on 12-for-24 field goal shooting, to go along with 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. He also shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Big man Isaiah Hartenstein came up big after a very brief Game 1 stint, finishing with a double-double of 10 markers, 13 boards, and 3 dimes, while also bumping, hounding, and grabbing French phenom Victor Wembanyama in all 27 minutes of action. Oklahoma’s bench delivered in Game 2, as four of them finished in double figures and a combined 57 points. Their Spurs counterparts could only produce 25, with the reigning Sixth Man of the Year Keldon Johnson as the lone Spur to finish in double digits with 10 markers, but was a negative-14 on the plus/minus while he was on the floor. Three Spurs starters scored at least 21 points, led by 2025 Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, who had 25 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, and 1 steal. He, however, committed 9 turnovers, as San Antonio had 21 overall that led to 27 Oklahoma points. The Thunder only turned the ball over 10 times, which also led to 10 Spurs points. Victor Wembanyama once again stuffed the stats sheet with 21 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 4 blocks. He was however, only limited to just 16 shot attempts with 7 of them from deep. The Thunder made sure he was pushed and shoved away from the basket and in times when he found his way in the shaded lane, Harstenstein sneakily grabbed one of his arms and was very physical while evading the referees’ whistle. Devin Vassell scorched the net from the rainbow territory with six treys and helped keep the Spurs within striking distance, but his fellow sharpshooter Julian Champagnie only shot 2-for-8 from the field, including 1-for-7 from deep. Crucial injuries to key players could test both team’s depth moving forward. Spurs super rookie and Filipino-American guard Dylan Harper left the game midway through the third quarter with an apparent hamstring injury. He joins All Star DeAaron Fox on the injured list and are both considered questionable for Game 3. On the flipside, Jalen Williams only played 7 minutes and scored 4 points for the Thunder in Game 2, after sustaining a hamstring injury. The series is now tied at 1-game apiece. Game 3 now shifts to the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas on Friday night (Saturday morning, Philippine time). How They Scored: 31-31; 62-51; 96-88; 122-113 Thunder 122 – Gilgeous-Alexander 30, Caruso 17, Holmgren 13, Wallace 12, McCain 12, Hartenstein 10, Mitchell 10, Dort 8, Jay. Williams 6, Jal. Williams 4 Spurs 113 – Castle 25, Vassell 22, Wembanyama 21, Harper 12, Johnson 10, Champagnie 8, McLaughlin 6, Barnes 5, Kornet 4 Comments are highly appreciated. You may send them to reylanloberternos@yahoo.com.ph and you may follow me @reylan_l on twitter. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Reylan Loberternos.  |
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