Alex Caruso delivered a detailed postgame breakdown after the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 122-115 double-overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Monday at Paycom Center. He finished with 31 points off the bench in a game defined by late swings and high-pressure possessions.
Speaking about what decided the contest, Caruso pointed to execution on key sequences across both halves. “Yeah, there was just big plays throughout the game. You know, the first half was kind of a defensive I think both teams were trying to set a tone defensively and played pretty well. And offensively, I think either team kind of was out of sorts. And in the second half that kind of got cleaned up on both ends. You know, they made big shots. We made some big shots, some big plays to get back into it after being down 10 with, you know, 7 minutes to go or so. You know, they just made a couple more, I think, towards the end of the game.”
He added a broader view on what playoff basketball demands, emphasizing the mental layer that separates late-series games from earlier rounds. “Yeah, I mean that’s a given the further you get in the playoffs, you know, the better the teams are. And that usually means you’re doing, you know, two things. You’re physically putting in a lot of effort and winning those kind of physical battles, but then there’s a mental aspect of, you know, taking advantages, trying to create some and take away from the other team. And, you know, that’s part of it’s part of the game, you know, that’s what makes the playoffs so great is like the details of winning are really important. You know, we’ll go watch the film and see what we can do better.”
Caruso also addressed his aggressive approach after a slow offensive start for Oklahoma City, linking it directly to playoff urgency. “Yeah. I mean, it’s one of those things where you’re just trying to make whatever the play is in front of you to win the game. And for me tonight, he was getting a bunch of shots and they were going in. So, I just kept running with it. You know, even then, you know, trying to still do the other stuff I do defensively, create a little havoc, get to the rim a couple times, but yeah, I mean it’s playoffs, game one at home. You know, you’re juiced up. You’re trying to do whatever it takes to win the game.”
Defensively, he discussed his assignment on Victor Wembanyama, who finished with 41 points and 24 rebounds, while also acknowledging late breakdowns. “Yeah, just making it difficult. Same thing I try to do with any of the other, you know, really good players in the league. Make catches tough, you know, don’t give him the same kind of physical contact, you know, a couple times in a row. And especially for him trying to, you know, get him away from the basket as much as possible.”
He also reflected on the Spurs’ adjustments in how they generated touches for their star. “Yeah, I mean you could see the evolution through the season if you watch basketball. You kind of saw you know them making a concentrated effort to run better sets and different looks for him to get the ball closer to the rim rather than you know him just trailing down the middle of the floor and catching it trying to put it on the ground because he’s much more effective when he can just catch the ball obviously 10 ft and in and go finish.”
Caruso closed by emphasizing decision-making against elite rim protection, stressing the importance of reading coverage rather than forcing plays. “Yeah. Making the right read. Like I said, there’s an intelligence aspect to playoff basketball of understanding how to attack and when to attack. And I think I just made good reads tonight.”
Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday in Oklahoma City.
