The Western Conference Finals has become a test of attrition. Oklahoma City evened the series at 1-1 with a 122-113 win over San Antonio on Wednesday – but the final score barely tells the story of a game in which both teams lost a key player before it was over.
Jalen Williams left in the first quarter with left hamstring tightness and did not return. Dylan Harper, already starting in place of the injured De’Aaron Fox, exited in the third quarter with a right hamstring problem and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. By the fourth quarter, Victor Wembanyama was effectively playing the Western Conference Finals alone.
SGA stays in control without Williams
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30 points, 9 assists) was the engine the Thunder needed – steady from start to finish, pushing pace in transition and closing the game without a trace of panic, even after Williams went down on Oklahoma City’s third possession of the night. Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Cason Wallace absorbed the absence without the scoreboard ever reflecting it.
Williams had already played through the same left hamstring issue in Game 1. Wednesday’s recurrence is harder to dismiss. An MRI is scheduled for Thursday, and the concern is real: Williams missed the entire second-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers with that same injury.
The Spurs are running out of guards
Wembanyama put up 21 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 blocks in 37 minutes – the kind of line that wins basketball games. Not this one. San Antonio turned the ball over 21 times. Oklahoma City converted those into 26 points.
“Not well,” Wembanyama said when asked how his team handled the Thunder’s defensive pressure. “We have to help our ball handlers more and take care of the ball,” he added, per Clutchpoints. The most frustrating part of the loss, he said, was “expending so much energy, catching back up on the score, and letting it get away.”
Fox has now missed two straight games with a right high ankle sprain, with no confirmed return timeline. With Harper also out, San Antonio has three injured guards in the same series.
What comes next
The series shifts to San Antonio for Games 3 and 4. The Spurs have the crowd. What they might not have is a functional backcourt.
Oklahoma City has shown it can win without Williams. San Antonio has not shown it can win without Fox – or now, without Harper. That asymmetry, more than any tactical consideration, will define the next few games.
Bottom line
- SGA was immovable. Thirty points, nine assists – even after his second-best teammate exited in the opening minutes.
- Wembanyama’s 21-17-6-4 still meant a loss. Twenty-one turnovers made sure of it.
- Thursday’s MRI is the most important appointment in the NBA right now. Williams’ status heading into Game 3 could shift the entire series.
Sources: ESPN, Clutchpoints, NBA.com
