Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander score 30 points to help im side beat San Antonio Spurs 122-113, as di defending NBA champions level Western Conference final at 1-1.
Gilgeous-Alexander, wey win NBA Most Valuable Player award for second year in a row, also provide nine assists for di second home game of di best-of-seven series.
Spurs star Victor Wembanyama score 41 points for di opening game but dem limit am to 21 for di second match.
“Di guys bring am tonight, knowing wetin e mean if we lose dis one,” Gilgeous-Alexander talk. “We bring di energy from di jump.”
Di game level at 31 apiece after first quarter before Thunder move into 11-point lead at half-time.
Di Spurs level di match midway through di third and come within two points of dia rivals for di fourth quarter, but Thunder pull away each time on di way to victory.
“We get a W, na all you fit ask for. Now we get to go on di road against a really good team and go get one,” Gilgeous-Alexander add.
Games three and four go take place for San Antonio on Friday and Sunday.
For di Eastern Conference final, New York Knicks lead Cleveland Cavaliers 1-0 with game two for New York on Thursday.
For di next game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander get 26 points and 12 assists, and di Oklahoma City Thunder beat di Spurs 123-108 for San Antonio, taking 2-1 lead for di Western Conference finals.
Jared McCain get 24 points, and Jaylin Williams add 18 for di Thunder, wey dey without Jalen Williams due to left hamstring soreness.
Belgian Ajay Mitchell start di game but injure and end im night with two points for 17 minutes of action, while German big man Isaiah Hartenstein get five points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
Oklahoma City bench outscore San Antonio 76-23, including 15 points by Alex Caruso.
For di other side, French star Victor Wembanyama get 24 points for San Antonio. Devin Vassell add 20, and De’Aaron Fox get 15 for im series debut.
Di Spurs race to 15-0 lead, di longest run to open a game for di conference finals since di play-by-play era begin for 1997, but di Thunder go on a 13-2 run when Wembanyama go to di bench and close di first quarter trailing 31-26, and by halftime, dem get di lead 58-51.
“We just go out there and compete,” Gilgeous-Alexander talk. “Dem obviously jump on us early. First game for dia building, dia crowd behind dem, dem dey excited to play. We just want to make sure we compete from dat point on. We obviously no give our best effort to start dat game, but we no fit do anything about am. E dey behind us. All we fit do na focus on di next possession, and we do dat.”
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