SAN ANTONIO — Alex Caruso clapped — a deliberate, defiant clap — as he and his Thunder teammates walked off the floor at Frost Bank Center, turned a corner and disappeared behind a black curtain on their way to the locker room.
Amid that trudge of shame, Caruso was already looking ahead to Game 7. The alternative was to dwell on another Game 6 Thunder dud.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” Caruso said. “You’ve gotta put it behind you and clear the mind and get ready to compete again, but also learn from what you did wrong and try to figure out how you can be better.”
The Thunder’s 118-91 loss to the Spurs on Thursday night looked an awful lot like the Thunder’s Game 6 no-show at Indiana in last year’s NBA Finals. Which followed a Game 6 loss at Denver two rounds before.
This Thunder team, in the past 12 months, has had three chances to close out a series on the road in Game 6. And thrice it whiffed, all by double-digits.
But if there’s a silver lining for the Thunder after a game that was all silver and black, OKC’s Game 6 clunkers have portended Game 7 victories. Against the Nuggets and the Pacers en route to an NBA title. And maybe against these Spurs as the Thunder tries to defend its championship.
What if snoozing through Game 6s is just a bad habit of this Thunder group? Isn’t it a third time that signals a trend? And in fairness to this iteration of the Thunder, the Game 6 hex is a decade old.
“The other team is just super desperate,” Thunder forward Kenrich Williams said. “They know their season is on the line. There’s some areas we can clean up, especially in Game 6s, just knowing they’re gonna come out with a different level of intensity and energy.”
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault called a timeout to stop the bleeding not even 90 seconds in. The Spurs led by as many as 28, and they led for the full 48.
“It’s hard to win a playoff game. Period. Against anybody,” Daigneault said. “It’s hard to win a playoff game against a great team. It’s hard to win a playoff game against a great team on the road. It’s hard to win any Game 6. I don’t know that it was necessarily anything we did wrong. I thought we were ready to play. I felt confident going into the game.”
As did Victor Wembanyama, who had 28 points and 10 boards in a back-against-the-wall gem.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, meanwhile, had one of his worst playoff performances: 15 points on 18 shots. It’s usually a good thing for the Thunder when SGA observes fourth quarters from the bench. Not so on Thursday.
“We’ve got to go out there and be better, and if we’re not better our season will be over,” SGA said.
This iteration of the Thunder is now 0-4 in Games 6s — the last three of which have been closeout opportunities.
When asked if he draws anything from how the Thunder bounced back in similar situations against the Nuggets and Pacers, SGA called this series a “new task, a new challenge.”
But at the same time, the Thunder has been here before.
Thunder vs. Spurs
GAME 7 TIPOFF: 7 p.m. CT Saturday at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City (NBC and Peacock)
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Thunder fans can take solace after Game 6 dud vs Spurs in West finals
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