Gilgeous-Alexander: Spurs matchup is not Thunder's 'Super Bowl'
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander believes that the Oklahoma City Thunder's matchups against the San Antonio Spurs are not their "Super Bowl".
After already losing three times to the Spurs this season, including in the NBA Cup semi-finals, the Thunder finally got the better of them in a 119-98 win at PayCom Center.
Gilgeous-Alexander registered 34 points, five rebounds, five assists and four blocks in the victory, while Jalen Williams also contributed with 20 points.
The reigning champions moved to 34-7 on the season, while the Spurs remain the second seed in the Western Conference with a 27-13 record.
After the win, Gilgeous-Alexander played down any talk of a rivalry between Oklahoma City and San Antonio.
"This wasn't our Super Bowl. It was just another game in an 82-game season," said the MVP.
"This result tells us that when we play a certain way, with a certain sense of urgency, with a certain sense of force, aggressiveness, and attention to detail, it doesn't matter who is on the other side.
"Nothing that I didn't expect. I knew that if we played a certain way, we'd be able to beat anybody in the world.
"It's never about the other team. It's always about us. We've got to where we've got because we've focused on ourselves."
Goodnight pic.twitter.com/0L35QVEE2B
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 14, 2026
And Williams added: "I will say this team makes us play 48 minutes of basketball to where we've got to really pay attention, and it's extremely fun to play against them throughout the season.
"You can feel like us making them better and them making us better throughout the course of the season as we're playing. But the rivalry stuff, I don't get caught up into it."
Victor Wembanyama finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in the defeat, though he recorded most of those figures in the first half.
San Antonio were outscored 64-46 in the second half, but Wembanyama did not think the Thunder changed their game plan for this game.
"Of course, they came prepared, but I don't think they changed too many things," Wembanyama said. "They trusted their own identity."
