Thunder reserves’ physicality ‘muck’ Victor Wembanyama, Spurs in highly-anticipated win

OKLAHOMA CITY — Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs’ physicality played a significant factor in their three wins against the Oklahoma City Thunder in December. Without starters Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein, two of the team’s defensive catalysts, the Thunder dominated Wembanyama and the Spurs in a 119-98 blowout win at the Paycom Center.

In a third quarter where the Thunder outscored the Spurs 40-24, Alex Caruso, Jaylin Williams, and Kenrich Williams’ efforts on both ends of the floor helped Oklahoma City extend a 14-1 run after halftime. The three reserves all took turns disrupting the Spurs’ offensive rhythm, clogging San Antonio’s passing lanes, and constantly contesting their opponents’ attempts.

After the win, Jaylin said he, Kenrich, and Caruso take great pride in their defensive roles for the Thunder, which showed in their collective efforts against one of the league’s brightest stars in Wembanyama, who’s on one of the NBA’s best teams, in the Spurs.

“I think I’m speaking for all three of us when I say we all love to muck the game up,” Williams said. “Get out there, play hard, do whatever the team needs; be physical, compete — those types of things. When we’re all out there yelling at each other, I feel like that’s when we’re able to push ourselves best on the defensive side.”

Jaylin and Kenrich rattled Victor Wembanyama in the paint, and Caruso kept a hand in the Spurs guards’ face on one end of the floor, and drained a pair of threes on the other. He also finished with one steal, while matching San Antonio’s physicality on defense, and the same could be said for Kenrich and Jaylin, who spent most of the night battling Wemby.

Still, it’s a stifling approach that the three typically bring on a nightly basis, regardless of the opponent.

“I don’t know if I would say it’s a rivalry or anything like that,” Williams said. “But, they’re obviously a really good team. We’re obviously a really good team. Two competitive teams that want to win a basketball game really, really bad. It’s going to be a great game — great players on their side of the ball. And it’s fun to play against guys that want to compete just as hard as us.”

Mark Daigneault applauds Thunder bench’s impact vs. Spurs

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault revealed beating the Spurs isn’t complicated when every one of his players are on the same page, while executing his game plan at a high level. Limiting Spurs All-Star Victor Wembanyama was critical for the Thunder.

For Daigneault, that effort starts at the top with the Thunder’s core in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren and trickles down to his bench in players such as Alex Caruso, Ajay Mitchell, and Jaylin Williams; all of whom did not disappoint against the Spurs.

“You just want your bench to go in and kind of elevate the game when they get in there, and I thought tonight Caruso, Jaylin Williams, Kenrich, Mitchell, and Isaiah Joe did that,” Daigneault said. “That’s exactly what you want from a bench. If you’re low on energy, they bring the energy up. If you have a lead, they extend a lead. And those guys brought major juice tonight. They won their minutes. They played their minutes really, really hard, and they gave us a huge lift.”

Caruso’s 13 points led three Thunder bench players in double figures, including Mitchell and Jaylin (10 rebounds), who each finished with 11 points and combined for 16 rebounds.

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