After dropping three straight games in unremarkable fashion, the Oklahoma City Thunder put an exclamation mark on their final game of the 2021 summer league.
Behind a huge first-quarter run and sparkling performances from Rob Edwards and Emmitt Williams, the Thunder took down the San Antonio Spurs 116-91 on Monday.
That offensive output was the most points scored by any team in this year’s summer league.
The beginning of the game looked like it was going to be a repeat of the Thunder’s three losses. Oklahoma City fell behind 12-4 in the first four minutes of play.
Then the Thunder scored 20 of the next 22 points. They had a 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter, built it to 22 at the end of the half and ran it as high as 30 points when a Williams 3-pointer made the score 97-67 with 6:45 to play in the fourth.
Williams was perfect from the field, making all six shots he attempted, including both 3s. He finished with 14 points.
The star was Edwards, who scored 23 points and made four 3-pointers. Fifteen of his points came in the third quarter, eight of which came on three straight possessions inside two minutes to go.
For a team that struggled with its shooting throughout the summer, the Thunder finally caught fire in the finale. They made 46 of their 80 shots for a 57.5% clip, and shot 40.7% from 3 as a team.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had a well-rounded 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists, but he went scoreless from behind the arc for the first time this summer. Josh Hall posted 17 points, had seven rebounds and went 7-for-7 from the free-throw line.
With that win, Oklahoma City’s summer league comes to a close. Josh Giddey and Tre Mann had minimal time, but the team got to see some minutes from players who will be on the Thunder or Blue this coming season.
And this season is right around the corner.
