What Jalen Williams ‘hates’ to remind everybody after Thunder’s heartbreaking Game 1 loss to Spurs

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What Jalen Williams ‘hates’ to remind everybody after Thunder’s heartbreaking Game 1 loss to Spurs

Josue Pavon, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Tue, May 19, 2026 ·

3 min read

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What Jalen Williams 'hates' to remind everybody after Thunder's heartbreaking Game 1 loss to Spurs appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

OKLAHOMA CITY — Jalen Williams and the Oklahoma City Thunder , trailing 1-0 to the San Antonio Spurs after Game 1's 122-115 loss in double OT, have been in this position before. The defending champions surrendered losses in its best-of-7 series openers against the Denver Nuggets and the Indiana Pacers amidst its title run last season. Head coach Mark Daigneault addressed the Thunder's issues in defending Victor Wembanyama on one end of the floor, and Oklahoma City's offensive rhythm on the other.

Then, Williams reminded reporters of the Thunder's playoff experience , and how his team will need to turn to the lessons learned, which led to a perfect 8-0 record in the postseason before losing to the Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

"Hate to say it but we've lost Game 1 a couple of times," Williams said. "So, we do have experience there. For me, from a personal standpoint, I think everything in the past happens for a reason. And we get another opportunity to be great and figure out a way to kind of hone back in and get Game 2. At the same time, we understand it's a series. We could have lost this game by 30 or won by 30, it's just one game. So, that's how we approach it."

After sitting out for nearly a month due to a left hamstring injury, Thunder's Jalen Williams finished with 26 points on 11-for-25 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal against the Spurs in Game 1.

Mark Daigneault on the Thunder's glaring issue in Game 1 loss vs. Spurs

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault identified a fix from Game 1's loss to the Spurs. While Spurs' Victor Wembanyama historic double-double (41 points, 24 rebounds) led his team to take a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals, Daigneault says the Thunder's issues reside on their offensive approach.

"We've done a better job on Wembanyama defensively than we did tonight but I thought we defended well enough to win the game," Daigneault said. "Offense is where we can improve from tonight more so than defense. Not that we were perfect down there, and we were a couple of plays away. It was a double-overtime game. So, obviously, that was a play or two away from going our way."

The Thunder will look to tie the series in Game 2 on Wednesday.

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