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Why Jalen Williams believes the Spurs make Thunder a ‘better team’
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- Why Jalen Williams believes the Spurs make Thunder a ‘better team’
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OKLAHOMA CITY — While Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams dismissed the rivalry discussion linked to the San Antonio Spurs after a 119-98 win, he did admit the three losses in December made the defending champions better. Williams and the Thunder avenged their three losses in 12 days against the Spurs, which put the All-Star forward in a reflective space during his postgame media availability.
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Williams says the Spurs force the Thunder to be its best , which was indeed the case in Tuesday's 21-point blowout win.
"They make us a better team when we play them — win or lose — we have to go about playing the right way every time we play them," Williams said. "And it forces us to have to do other things in order to win. We were able to do that tonight. When you play teams like that, you just have to pay attention to detail throughout the whole entire game. Otherwise, the game will kind of get out of hand, and that was the case for this one."
Williams and the Thunder learned from the mistakes they made in their previous matchups against the Spurs.
"The last time we played them in San Antonio , we did a good job of it in the first half, and then, we had a stretch where we didn't do a good job of it," Williams added. "And that's when it kind of got away. We were able to kind of nip it in the bud."
Williams finished with 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting, three assists, and two steals against the Spurs. Without starters Isaiah Hartenstein and Lu Dort , the Thunder outscored the Spurs 40-24 after halftime, and held them to 40% shooting from the floor. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 34 points on 11-of-23 shooting and 11-for-13 free throws. He also had five rebounds, five assists, and tied his career-high in steals with four.
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Why Jalen Williams doesn't care about Spurs rivalry
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
All-Stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and the Thunder know beating the Spurs is a good test , as the defending champions avenged three losses to the only team that's beaten them more than once this season. Bouncing back from a 6-6 record amidst its worst 12-game stretch of the 2025-26 campaign, the Thunder has a 34-7 record at the median of an 82-game season, and on a four-game winning streak.
Williams, when a reporter asked whether he considers the Spurs the Thunder's new rival, downplayed the topic, adding that players aren't typically the ones who decide which teams are the newest NBA rivals.
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"You guys control the rivalry thing — we don't really care," Williams said. "The rivalry stuff, if you gotta ask, it probably ain't one yet."
The Thunder will begin a four-game road trip, with their first matchup against the Rockets on Thursday.
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