Oklahoma City Thunder Samakan Kedudukan Usai Tekuk San Antonio Spurs

Oklahoma City Thunder berhasil menyamakan kedudukan menjadi 1-1 dalam seri Final Wilayah Barat NBA setelah menaklukkan San Antonio Spurs dengan skor 122-113 pada gim kedua yang berlangsung hari Rabu, 20 Mei 2026 malam waktu setempat di Oklahoma City.

Kemenangan tuan rumah diraih berkat performa gemilang Shai Gilgeous-Alexander yang mencetak 30 poin, sekaligus membalas kekalahan dramatis Thunder pada gim pertama dari skuad muda Spurs melalui dua kali babak perpanjangan waktu.

Pertandingan kedua ini diwarnai badai cedera setelah Jalen Williams dari Thunder harus keluar pada kuarter pertama akibat cedera hamstring kiri, menyusul ruki pengganti Ajay Mitchell yang juga mendapat cedera serupa di akhir laga.

Kondisi ini memperpanjang daftar pemain absen di kedua tim setelah sebelumnya point guard andalan San Antonio Spurs, De'Aaron Fox, juga terpaksa absen sejak gim pertama akibat mengalami cedera pergelangan kaki kanan.

Analis NBA Kendrick Perkins memberikan kritik tajam terhadap performa center Thunder, Chet Holmgren, yang dinilai tidak tampil maksimal dan menghindari duel langsung dengan bintang Spurs, Victor Wembanyama, pada gim pertama.

"Bisakah Chet berusaha? Itu yang pertama. Bisakah dia mencoba? Karena saya melihat dia menghindari pertempuran malam ini. Saya melihat Chet menjaga pemain lain di perimeter. Saya tidak terlalu sering melihatnya beraksi satu lawan satu menjaga Wemby. Dia tahu perseteruan itu sudah terjadi sejak masa sekola mereka," ucap Kendrick Perkins, Analis NBA dalam tayangan SportsCenter.

Perkins menambahkan bahwa Holmgren, yang merupakan finalis Pemain Bertahan Terbaik 2026 bersama Wembanyama, harus meningkatkan intensitas dan mentalitas kompetitifnya demi meredam dominasi sang rival di area bawah ring.

"Chet Holmgren harus menganggap ini sebagai masalah pribadi. Terutama dalam sisi pertahanan permainan basket. Dia harus menunjukkan mengapa dia merupakan finalis Defensive Player of the Year. Malam ini dia akan kesulitan tidur," lanjut Kendrick Perkins, Mantan Pemain Boston Celtics.

Analis RotoWire Nick Whalen sebelumnya telah memprediksi adanya penyesuaian strategi dari kedua tim yang akan tampil lebih defensif pada pertandingan kedua ini setelah melihat skor tinggi pada laga pembuka.

"The under went up in smoke in double-overtime in Game 1, but I think we could see a similar, defensive-minded script play out again tonight. In regulation, the total finished at 202 points, and while OKC should expect a better game out of SGA, the Thunder also likely won't get eight threes from Alex Caruso off the bench. Meanwhile, the Spurs could shoot it better from three, but will they go 27-of-29 at the line again? Perhaps most importantly, Game 1 was played at a significantly slower pace (92.9) than either team has averaged throughout the playoffs." ujar Nick Whalen, Pakar NBA RotoWire.

Kekhawatiran sektor rebound Thunder juga disoroti oleh analis lain karena Spurs sangat mendominasi bola pantul pada pertandingan hari Senin sebelumnya dengan keunggulan telak 61 banding 40.

"Holmgren has failed to grab double-digit rebounds in four straight games after back-to-back double-doubles. The big man grabbed only eight boards in 41 minutes during Game 1, and he simply needs to be better if the Thunder are going to even the series before heading to San Antonio. The Spurs won the rebounding battle 61-40 on Monday, including 15-9 on the offensive glass. Isaiah Hartenstein won't be able to play heavy minutes in this series without being a liability, so Holmgren's presence on the glass is vital." kata Kirien Sprecher, Analis RotoWire.

Meskipun kalah di gim kedua, atmosfer pertandingan di kandang Thunder diakui oleh pelatih San Antonio Spurs, Mitch Johnson, sangat memberikan tekanan berat bagi komunikasi anak asuhnya di lapangan.

"Any time you play a team that has had the level of recent success as the Thunder have, the fans are very, very enthusiastic and bring energy to support," ujar Mitch Johnson, Pelatih Spurs.

Johnson menjelaskan bahwa riuhnya gemuruh penonton memaksa para pemain di lapangan untuk mengambil keputusan secara mandiri karena instruksi dari bangku cadangan tidak terdengar.

"I would say that this would be probably one of the higher-end fan bases, and ours, in terms of what the environment is like... More than anything, it really puts emphasis on players to handle the calls and communicate with each other, because there's no way anyone on the sideline for myself or whoever's coaching is going to be able to get all five guys' attention," kata Mitch Johnson, Pelatih Spurs.

Kesulitan berkomunikasi di dalam arena yang bising juga dirasakan langsung oleh forward Spurs, Julian Champagnie, yang mengaku kesulitan mendengar suaranya sendiri saat bertahan.

"Midway through the game I was trying to talk on defense and I couldn't hear myself," kata Julian Champagnie, Forward Spurs.

Champagnie menambahkan bahwa situasi tersebut menuntut kedekatan emosional tim agar pergerakan strategi menyerang mereka tetap berjalan dengan mengandalkan insting.

"At some point it comes down to team chemistry and all of us knowing, and being on the same page of what the game plan is," kata Julian Champagnie, Forward Spurs.

Ia juga menegaskan bagaimana performa eksekusi taktik ofensif skuad Spurs pada laga tersebut berjalan secara alami.

"And just executing on offense really, that was pure instinct last night," kata Julian Champagnie, Forward Spurs.

Pemain sayap Spurs, Devin Vassell, memuji kekompakan komunikasi non-verbal timnya yang menggunakan bahasa isyarat tangan untuk tetap saling terhubung saat bertanding dalam kebisingan.

"We're just super connected on the court," kata Devin Vassell, Wing Spurs.

Vassell memaparkan bahwa komunikasi menjadi kunci utama bagi skuad Spurs yang bermain tanpa keegoisan dan fokus penuh demi meraih kemenangan bersama.

"When it gets loud like that you can't really hear, but we all really know each other: what the next person is doing, what plays they're supposed to be running, what crunch-time offense and defense looks like. So we're able to communicate if we can't hear each other, at least we're talking with our hands and doing something to communicate, but communication is key and that's the big thing that we talk about, and remembering that with that many people, it's that loud, it's hard to be shouting so that everyone can hear you," kata Devin Vassell, Wing Spurs.

Vassell menambahkan bahwa kebersamaan tanpa ego di timnya membuat seluruh pemain menikmati peran masing-masing.

"They really don’t care who gets the credit. They don’t care whose number is called," kata Devin Vassell, Wing Spurs.

Atmosfer positif ini disebut Vassell menjadi faktor yang membuat lingkungan bermain di San Antonio Spurs terasa sangat menyenangkan bagi semua pemain.

"It’s just great to be a part of it, because at the end of the day, nobody’s selfish. Everybody just wants to win," kata Devin Vassell, Wing Spurs.

Sementara itu, bintang utama Spurs, Victor Wembanyama, mengungkapkan kepuasan mendalamnya terhadap koordinasi lini pertahanan timnya yang saling menutupi ruang gerak lawan.

"Feels like everybody's taking pleasure in executing the game plan, and personally this series was probably the most fun I had on defense," kata Victor Wembanyama, Pemain Spurs dalam siaran NBA on Prime.

Wembanyama merasa nyaman karena seluruh rekan setimnya bergerak selaras bagaikan satu kesatuan di area pertahanan untuk saling melindungi.

"Me too. Everybody was on a string, everybody was connected, and I was about to go help somebody cause I know my teammate has my back, everybody just went together, and that's the most fun I had on defense," kata Victor Wembanyama, Pemain Spurs.

Ruki San Antonio Spurs, Dylan Harper, yang tampil apik dengan mencatatkan tujuh steal sejak awal laga, menegaskan pertahanan kolektif akan tetap menjadi identitas utama tim di sisa seri ini.

"I think that's kind of a calling card," kata Dylan Harper, Pemain Spurs.

Harper memastikan bahwa skema bertahan bersama akan selalu menjadi andalan utama skuad Spurs untuk menghadapi situasi krusial di akhir pertandingan.

"When it gets to the end of the game and things of that nature, that's something we're gonna rely on every time, is just being connected with defense and making sure that we're all playing team defense, not just one on one," kata Dylan Harper, Pemain Spurs.

Fisikoterapi dan pengamat cedera NBA Evan Jeffries melalui akun media sosial X menyatakan bahwa cedera hamstring yang dialami Jalen Williams bisa mengancam ketersediaan sang pemain untuk sisa laga di Final Wilayah Barat.

"Jalen Williams is OUT again with left hamstring “tightness” This likely means he aggravated it which would put his status in jeopardy for the series," tulis Evan Jeffries, Dokter Fisikoterapi dan Pengamat Cedera NBA.

Rangkaian pertandingan Final Wilayah Barat NBA 2026 selanjutnya akan berpindah ke markas San Antonio Spurs untuk menggelar gim ketiga dan keempat.