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SAN ANTONIO — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 32 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder opened their season with a 116-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, the team that ended their dreams of a title defense last season.
San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama had 12 points but was 1 for 13 from the field. It was his fewest field goals since going 2 for 5 against Minnesota on May 10. Wembanyama’s lone field goal came on an alley-oop pass from De’Aaron Fox as time expired in the third quarter.
Wembanyama missed his first 12 shots, including having an alley-oop attempt blocked by 7-foot-3 rookie Aday Mara.
Jared McCain added 20 points on 6-for-8 shooting on 3-pointers as Oklahoma City led for all but the opening five minutes of the game.
The Spurs beat the Thunder 111-103 in Oklahoma City in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on May 30 in their previous matchup.
Nearly five months apart did not cool this heated rivalry.
Three minutes into the second quarter Fox received a Flagrant Foul 1 for tossing Chet Holmgren to the court after they became entangled in the paint.
The body slam led to a huge scrum with Wembanyama and Jaylin Williams having to be separated after pushing each other. Wembanyama, Williams, Jalen Williams and Kenrich Williams each received a technical for the dust up.
Oklahoma City went on a 9-0 run after the scuffle with Jalen and Kenrich Williams accounting for five points. Harrison Barnes’ 3-pointer ended the run, but the Thunder responded by scoring 13 straight capped by Cason Wallace’s 3-pointer for a 59-33 lead.
Oklahoma City outscored San Antonio 31-16 in the second quarter in taking a 65-44 lead at the half.
The Spurs opened the second half on a 23-9 run to pull within single digits after trailing by 26 in the first half.
Gilgeous-Alexander and McCain stepped up when San Antonio pulled close, combining for 25 points in the second half.