MVP Gilgeous-Alexander stars as Thunder level series with Spurs

Defending champs OKC win 122-113 as Gilgeous-Alexander scores 30 points and provides 9 assists, overshadowing Wembanyama.Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pulled the Oklahoma City Thunder level with the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals, as the defending NBA champions won their second heavyweight clash 122-113.Having been largely kept in check in their Game 1 loss to the Spurs, the league’s back-to-back Most Valuable Player scored 30 points and provided nine assists to draw level in the series on Wednesday.The Thunder’s home win poises the series at 1-1, with the teams next headed to San Antonio for Games Three and Four on Friday and Saturday.“The guys brought it tonight, knowing what it would have meant if we lost this one,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.“We brought the energy from the jump.”Two nights after it had taken a double-overtime classic to separate them, the two teams with the best NBA regular-season records put on another intense display.Following a tied first quarter, the Thunder roared ahead for an 11-point half-time lead.Gilgeous-Alexander, who had endured a sluggish start in the previous game, led the charge from tip-off, regularly scoring from mid-range.His team hustled for 13 turnovers worth 16 points in the first half alone.The Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama – having dazzled in Game One, with 41 points and 24 rebounds – was stifled, frequently wrestling with Isaiah Hartenstein and double-teamed by an aggressive Thunder defence.But his teammate Stephon Castle responded in style, leaping for a sensational dunk over the head of seven-foot-tall Hartenstein that left the crowd and players gasping.