Gilgeous-Alexander scores 32 as Thunder beat Spurs 116-104

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points and Jared McCain made six three-pointers as the Oklahoma City Thunder opened their season with a 116-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night at Frost Bank Center.

McCain finished with 20 points on seven-of-nine shooting, including six of eight from beyond the arc, to lead a Thunder bench that outscored San Antonio's reserves 48-29. Chet Holmgren added 14 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, while Jalen Williams had 12 points and seven rebounds.

Victor Wembanyama finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks but made just one of 13 field-goal attempts. Ten of his points came at the free-throw line. The Spurs got 24 points from Stephon Castle, 18 from Dylan Harper and 14 from De'Aaron Fox, but their second-half push could not erase Oklahoma City's early advantage.

The Thunder made 10 of 14 three-pointers in the first half and took a 65-44 lead into the break. Their lead had reached 26 points at 59-33. San Antonio scored only 16 points in the second quarter, leaving itself a substantial deficit against the team it eliminated in last season's Western Conference finals.

The Spurs recovered offensively in the third, scoring 36 points to pull within 93-80 entering the fourth. Harper helped them continue that push, and his two free throws with 5:25 remaining cut the Thunder's lead to 102-94.

Holmgren answered with a tip-in. Castle then made a three with 4:18 left to bring San Antonio within seven at 104-97, but McCain immediately restored a double-digit lead with his sixth three-pointer. Gilgeous-Alexander followed with a pull-up jumper, Isaiah Hartenstein scored inside and Williams added a free throw. That eight-point run made it 112-97 with 1:56 to play.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished 13-for-27 from the field and added five rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Oklahoma City made 14 of 31 three-point attempts overall, compared with San Antonio's 10 of 37. The Spurs shot 36-for-93 from the field, or 38.7%.

Rookie Aday Mara supplied seven points and a block in his NBA debut. His third-quarter stretch included a rejection at the rim and a two-handed alley-oop, giving the Thunder another contribution from their second unit.

The game also carried some of the tension from the teams' seven-game playoff series. Fox received a flagrant-1 foul in the second quarter after sending Holmgren to the floor. Technical fouls followed after players came together.

Oklahoma City hosts Denver on Thursday. San Antonio stays home to face Houston on Friday.