Jalen Williams returned in Game 6 and Oklahoma City still lost the stretch that mattered by 20 straight points. The Thunder’s 118-91 loss to San Antonio turned Game 7 into a question of whether the supporting structure can come back together around an MVP locked in a four-game shooting slump.
Available did not mean ready for a full role
Williams hadn’t played since aggravating his left hamstring in Game 2 of the series. He logged 10 minutes and scored one point, his first bench appearance since his rookie season in December 2022, with Oklahoma City outscored by 18 while he was on the floor.
Having his name back in the rotation kept the Thunder no closer to a second on-ball creator at full speed. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was still alone in that role.
The third quarter exposed the gap
Oklahoma City was still close enough after halftime, trailing 65-60, then 72-64, before the game snapped open. After an Isaiah Hartenstein miss, the Spurs ripped off a 20-0 run that pushed the lead to 92-64 late in the third. The Thunder missed 13 straight shots during that stretch and went 7:30 without a point.
Gilgeous-Alexander hit a historic low
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting, missed all five of his 3-point attempts and had four assists with Stephon Castle as his primary defender. His minus-28 in 28 minutes tied Joel Embiid’s 2023 mark for the worst plus-minus by an NBA MVP in a series-clinching opportunity since play-by-play tracking began in 1997.
It was the fourth straight game Gilgeous-Alexander shot under 40% from the floor, a run he hadn’t matched since 2021-22, the year before his first All-Star selection. He is averaging 24.3 points on 37.9% shooting in the series.
The Game 7 question is the support structure
The Thunder can still win Game 7 at home with Williams on a restricted ramp. They are the defending champions, and their defense has already put San Antonio into ugly stretches in this series. Ajay Mitchell is still out with a calf injury, which leaves Oklahoma City without its usual pressure release on the perimeter.
Gilgeous-Alexander framed his own Game 7 himself: “A lot of the shots that I’m shooting, I’ve shot plenty of times before, and they feel good. They’re just not going in. But it’s too late to abandon my work and abandon my game and who I am. This late in the season, I’ve got to trust it and live or die by it.” The Thunder need Williams’ hamstring to allow him to turn the corner, punish a closeout and make the second pass. If those actions aren’t available, San Antonio can load earlier toward the MVP and live with what the rest of the floor produces.
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