Thunder Get Jalen Williams Back for Game 1 But Drop Heartbreaker to Spurs in Double OT
Jalen Williams was back. The Thunder were supposed to be at full strength. They still lost.
The Oklahoma City wing returned to action in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs after missing nearly a month with a left hamstring strain. He had been out for the Thunder’s previous six playoff games, which made his return one of the most important storylines of the night. By the start of tipoff, he looked as close to 100 percent as Oklahoma City could have hoped.
What he did on the floor was the bigger question. Williams is the Thunder’s second-best player. He is the connector who lets Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Aaron Wiggins all play their natural roles. Without him, the offense had been bottling up against good defenses. With him, the Thunder were supposed to be back to the team that won the championship a year ago.
He produced. Solid scoring, defensive activity, secondary playmaking. He looked like himself. It just was not enough.
The Thunder lost 122-115 in double overtime in a game that Victor Wembanyama dominated. The Spurs’ second-year center put up 41 points and 24 rebounds, and the Spurs got 24 points, 11 rebounds, 7 steals, and 6 assists from rookie Dylan Harper, who was filling in for the injured De’Aaron Fox. Williams’ return papered over one Thunder problem and exposed another.
The exposed problem is that the Thunder cannot defend Wembanyama in single coverage. Chet Holmgren tried. He competed. He was not the issue. Wembanyama is just bigger, longer, and more skilled than any center in the league, and that includes the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. When Holmgren had help, Wembanyama still scored. When the help came from Williams, Wembanyama still scored.
The Thunder need a different defensive scheme for Game 2. They probably need to send doubles harder and live with the kick-out threes from San Antonio’s role players. They need to keep Wembanyama off the offensive glass, which is where he picked up at least a third of his point total. And they need Gilgeous-Alexander to look more like a Most Valuable Player than he did in Game 1, when he struggled to score efficiently against the Spurs’ length.
The good news for Oklahoma City is that Williams looked healthy. He moved well. He cut hard. He defended without favoring the hamstring. The body of the player who finished second in the MVP discussion two years ago is in the building again, and his presence opens up the offense in ways that matter over a seven-game series.
The bad news is that having Williams was not enough to win one game at home. The Thunder are a deeper team than the Spurs. They have more playoff experience as a unit. They are the defending champs. They were favored heading into this series. And they just dropped Game 1 in a way that puts every game from here on under pressure.
Coach Mark Daigneault is going to spend the next 48 hours doing what he does best: studying film, drawing up adjustments, and finding a way to get a different result. The Thunder have been here before. They lost a Game 1 in the second round last year and won the series in six. Daigneault and his staff do not panic.
But they also need to make sure Williams stays on the floor and that the offense flows through him more naturally in Game 2. He cannot just be a body. He has to be a focal point. The Thunder are at their best when the ball is moving and Williams is making decisions in the mid-range. That happens more when the offense is built for him rather than him slotting into a team that already established its rhythm without him.
Game 2 is Wednesday in Oklahoma City. Williams should be there. He should also be more involved. The Thunder are going to need him to be.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
