Oklahoma City had a historic beat down of San Antonio on Sunday night, notching the largest margin of victory in franchise history with their 131-103 win over the Spurs.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Double-double trouble
Oklahoma City had three different players that posted a double-double against the Spurs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Steven Adams had 21 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Chris Paul also had a quieter double-double, with 10 points and 11 assists. He finished the game with nine rebounds, unaware he was a single rebound shy of a triple-double.
He likely would’ve gotten it had it not been for the lopsided score midway through the third quarter.
When asked about it after the game, he joked that it was Billy Donovan keeping him from the triple-double, saying “he won’t let me be great”.
The game plan worked
On Saturday, Nerlens Noel said that he strategy for defending LaMarcus Aldridge was “just to bother him”, and the game plan appeared to work.
In the three previews games between the Thunder and Spurs this season, Aldridge had been averaging 28.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. On Sunday, he finished with just eight points and 3-of-10 shooting.
Oklahoma City also did a good job of defending without fouling, spending Aldridge to the line for just two free-throw attempts.
Lu Dort was perfect
Dort continues to play his way towards a full-time contract. The two-way player was one of eight Thunder players in double figures on Sunday, scoring 15 points while going a perfect 6-of-6 from the field.
The rookie padded his stat line with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Two nights after Chris Paul said people “don’t understand” the importance of Dort and the things he does on the court, Dennis Schroder said that the first-year player is “changing the game”.
