Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reveals secret sauce to beat Spurs after 3 ugly losses
OKLAHOMA CITY — After Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander threw a farewell at the San Antonio Spurs after a 119-98 win that avoided a 4-0 season mark, he revealed what a win means to the defending champion. Jaylen Williams says the Spurs are no match for the Thunder. He didn’t say it outright during his post-game media availability, but it was heavily implied in his blanket dismissal of the talk.
Gilgeous-Alexander said the Spurs were a better team after the Thunder’s collapse on Christmas Day, as evidenced by the Spurs’ three wins in 12 days, including a two-day gap between the last two. So what did Tuesday’s win mean for the defending champions?
“Tonight’s result tells us that when we play a certain way, with a certain sense of urgency, with a certain sense of force and aggression, and attention to detail, it doesn’t matter who’s on the other side,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I think we knew that about this group, and it’s just about getting to that point without having to lose or get pushed there. And it’s not like we haven’t done it before, we’ve done it multiple times.”
“But I think the more we can get into that mental frame, the better we’ll be for sure. There was nothing tonight that I didn’t expect. I knew if we played a certain way, we could beat anybody in the world.”
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 34 points, five rebounds and an assist. He also finished with a career-high five steals.
Did Shai Gilgeous-Alexander take a shot at the Spurs?
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Super Bowl comments flooded social media timelines as the reigning MVP’s exit interview went viral after Tuesday’s win. Suggesting the matchup meant more to the Spurs than the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander says the Thunder treated it like any other regular season game.
“Tonight wasn’t our Super Bowl. It wasn’t anything (other than) another game in an 82-game season,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
SGA took a shot at the Spurs 👀
“Tonight was not our SUPER BOWL.” pic.twitter.com/Ie2tRsbMjO
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) January 14, 2026
The Thunder are on a four-game winning streak.
2026-01-14 21:25:00
