SAN ANTONIO – Career nights from LaMarcus Aldridge and Derrick White, as well as sizzling three-point shooting, lifted the San Antonio Spurs to a thrilling 154-147 double-overtime victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder (25-16) at the AT&T Center on Thursday night.
The win saw the Spurs bounce back from a subpar performance against the Memphis Grizzlies just 24 hours ago. This was the first of four meetings against the Thunder this season and what a way to kick off the season series.
“He’s been a beast all year long,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Aldridge. “He anchors us at both ends of the floor, he did it last year and he is doing it this year too. He works hard and he had a great night.”
Here is what went good and bad for the Spurs, as well as three standout players: Aldridge, White, and Marco Belinelli.
The Good:
- LaMarcus Aldridge, he definitely had a good night. A career high will do that.
- Derrick White also had a career-high and is showing his growth with each passing game.
- San Antonio finished 16-for-19 from three-point range and went a perfect 14-for-14 before missing their first three in the third quarter.
- DeMar DeRozan nearly had a triple-double as he finished with 16 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds.
- San Antonio had 45 bench points on the night.
- Oh, the Spurs put up 154 in double overtime without Rudy Gay. Scary.
The Bad:
- Even though he nearly had a triple-double, DeRozan struggled to shoot the ball. He finished 7-for-22 from the field and turned the ball over four times.
- The Spurs had trouble containing Russell Westbrook and Paul George, who combined for 54 points.
Three Standout Players:
LaMarcus Aldridge:
When you score a career-high and dominate the game, you are a standout player. And that is exactly what LaMarcus Aldridge did on Thursday night.
Aldridge poured in a career-high 56 points to go along with nine rebounds, four blocks, four assists, and a perfect 16-for-16 from the free throw line. He got the ball early and often as he banged down low with Stephen Adams and Jerami Grant. When he was doubled, he found the open man for buckets.
“I feel like I had a good matchup and a good rhythm down there [in the paint],” Aldridge said. “They were doubling and I spun to the baseline and did a fade away and knew this was one of those nights.”
Derrick White
The second-year guard finished with a big night himself, pouring in his career high and did so in thrilling fashion.
White scored a career-high 23 points to go along with eight assists, five rebounds, two steals, and a game-saving block that would leave his head bleeding. There is no doubt the Spurs have a great point guard duo with White and Dejounte Murray to guide the Silver and Black into this new era of basketball.
“I just want to go out there and contribute to the team as much as possible,” White said. “I’ve been feeling more comfortable and confident these last couple of weeks. Each game I want to get better and better and help the team win.”
Marco Belinelli:
The Italian and fan favorite came off the bench and quietly set the tone for what type of night it would be for the Spurs as he got the AT&T Center buzzing with three consecutive three-balls.
Belinelli would finish the game with 19 points off the bench, going a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point land. When he was shooting from three, he took the ball to the hole and attacked the rim.
San Antonio seems to be clicking on all cylinders as we head into the Road Trip and it couldn’t come at a better time.
UP NEXT:
The Spurs are now 25-18 on the season and will return to the court on Saturday night when they travel to face the Thunder in OKC at 7 pm Central Time.
