Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored thirty points with nine assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 122-113 on Wednesday to tie the Western Conference Finals 1-1. [1] [2]

Game 2 was the answer the Thunder needed. SGA shot fifty percent, added four rebounds, two blocks, and one turnover; Alex Caruso came off the bench for seventeen. Victor Wembanyama, who had forty-one points and twenty-four rebounds in the double-overtime Game 1 the paper called the product NBC bought the NBA to defend, had a quieter night. [1]

A 1-1 series with Wembanyama held below his ceiling is a different broadcast product than a Wembanyama epic at 41/24. The NBA's new media-rights deal was sold on individual nights like Game 1; a competitive series sold on rotation depth and a closer's third-quarter is also a product, just not the one the highlight cuts were edited around. [2] [3]

The series moves to San Antonio for Game 3 on Friday. The Thunder kept home court without it being easy, which is its own kind of receipt. [1]

-- AMARA OKONKWO, Lagos