Next time Alex Caruso is on the bench, please no photos.
During a tense moment in a thrilling Game 1 that featured a career-best game from Caruso — but an even better one from Victor Wembanyama as the Spurs won 122-115 to take a 1-0 series lead in the Wester Conference finals — the veteran Thunder guard bizarrely shoved away a cameraman.
At the end of regulation with the teams tied at 101-101, Wembanyama had a chance to win the game with a layup when Chet Holmgren came flying in for a block to extend the game.
As a camera person came over to the Thunder bench to capture the team as it readied for overtime, Caruso aggressively pushed the camera away.
A second hand — belonging to someone wearing something blue — also blocked the camera moments later before the shot shifted to Wembanyama.
It is unclear why Caruso reacted the way he did.
Caruso had a monster Game 1, tallying 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including 8-of-14 from 3-point range.
He was also tasked with guarding Wembanyama for most of the game despite being a foot shorter than the Spurs’ 7-foot-4 center.
Wembanyama put up one of the best performances in basketball history Monday night, playing 49 minutes and going 14-for-25 from the field with 41 points, 24 rebounds and three blocks.
He also drilled a 3-pointer from 30 feet at the end of the first overtime to tie the game at 108-108, just as it looked like Oklahoma City had finally put San Antonio away.
“Wemby played 48 minutes, had 41 points, 24 rebounds and 3 blocks, changed 20 other shots and made a must-make 30 footer from the Curry spot, and by the end of the game the OKC fans looked like they’d just been strip-searched — anyway he’s our player of the game,” Ringer founder Bill Simmons posted on X after the shocking Game 1.
Game 2 on Wednesday will be nearly must-win for the Thunder as they attempt to slow down Wembanyama, who looked unstoppable Monday night.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
