Shai Gilgeous-Alexander created an awkward moment on live television, then immediately tried to undo it. The Thunder superstar is the same leader who spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to acknowledge his teammates’ roles in his being a two-time MVP. SGA doesn’t just do it for the sake of it. He believes there’s no glamour and success without them. Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals – a series now tied 1-1 after the Thunder’s 122-113 bounce-back win over the Spurs on Wednesday night at Paycom Center – was a representation of this camaraderie.

The bench contributed 50+ points again. Most importantly, Isaiah Hartenstein managed to curb Wembanyama by being disruptive all night. “We saw his effectiveness tonight for sure,” SGA said during the press conference. But that wasn’t his tone right after the game.

During his postgame interview on the court with NBC’s Zora Stephenson, who asked, “You all made a pivot defensively, Hart on Wemby — what kind of impact did Isaiah have tonight?”, the MVP said, “I’m not sure if it was good to be honest,” minutes after the end of Game 2. Stephenson pressed him to elaborate, and SGA added: “It was alright. It was good. It was good.”

It was an awkward moment for fans who couldn’t fathom SGA dissing his own teammate, but they also somewhat believed it. Either way, the Thunder ace later clarified at a subsequent press conference, per Daily Thunder’s Brandon Ranbar, “I didn’t really hear her. And then once I realized what she said, I gave her the right answer.”

That right answer for acknowledging Hartenstein’s impact while guarding Wembanyama. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went into detail, speaking about the importance of the OKC center’s physicality in such matchups.

Whatever the former Knicks center did, whether it was a few bumps or just letting Wembanyama know he’s right there, it prevented the 7’4″ Spurs star from dominating as he did a few nights ago. In Game 1, a double-overtime classic in which Wembanyama erupted for 41 points and 24 rebounds to hand the defending champion Thunder a series-opening loss, Wemby had the freedom to go to work inside.

Wemby shot just two free throws and had to resort to shooting far more than getting clean looks inside the paint.

In Game 1, it was comfortable for Victor Wembanyama to gain position inside the paint and go to work. He was matched up against Alex Caruso, who can’t physically do anything when the ball is thrown at Wembanyama’s head. Hartenstein could, although controversially at times.

When reviewing his defense on Wembanyama, Reggie Miller said, “He’s just holding, he’s grabbing, he’s clinching”.

That’s where some fans believed SGA was just being too honest in his feedback about his teammate.

He did have a suspicious play go unnoticed, in which he blatantly pulled Stephon Castle’s hair. But aside from that, most of what the Thunder center did fell well within the thresholds of playoff basketball. Hartenstein himself explained in a mid-game interview that the referees had cleared him to play that way.

He came out scrappy to make Wembanyama uncomfortable. He achieved that to some extent, finishing with 10 points, 13 rebounds, and three assists, including 8 offensive boards for the Thunder.

Mark Diagneault has found his answer for Victor Wembanyama

A OKC fan was probably screaming at their television, asking Daigneault to get some size on Victor Wembanyama in Game 1. They didn’t use Chet Holmgren, rather relying on Caruso’s post defense. But even when it clearly didn’t work, the Thunder head coach never looked over at Hartenstein. He had been sitting on the bench for all but 12 minutes in Game 1. OKC and Daigneault learned from their mistakes.

“Two things that just didn’t feel good. One, his stuff at the rim just felt too sustainable. So we had to make some corrections… And then the other thing that doesn’t feel good is playing Hart 12 minutes. It just didn’t feel good to me. But in order to get him extended past that, that’s the matchup,” said Mark Daigneault.

Daigneault elaborated after Game 2: “If you listed all the skills you wanted from a modern center, true center, he checks every box. That’s why I love him. And the other thing I love about him is I played him 12 minutes, and he doesn’t bat an eye. Turns around tonight and played a great game.”

At the very minimum, OKC can count on Isaiah Hartenstein to be an imposing figure. He can also challenge Wembanyama at the rim, which is improbable to do with wings or smaller guards. Tonight, having the seasoned big paid off.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander noted how “He’s our backbone. He’s our bruiser”.

Harteinstein, although a seven-footer, manages to make his presence felt uncomfortably. He makes it awkward, taking away the little things with his physicality.

He managed to box out Wembanyama more than a few times, preventing the Spurs from creating many second-chance opportunities. Furthermore, he has that soft floater with his left hand, which could be an effective weapon against Wemby’s rim protection. He used it a few times tonight. Having Hartenstein cover the Spurs ace also helped create some of the chaos.

The Spurs recorded 21 turnovers, with Stephon Castle alone accounting for 11 of them, the most by any player in a two-game stretch in playoff history. They couldn’t just throw the ball into Wembanyama as they did in Game 1. So essentially, Hartenstein takes away an efficient motion from San Antonio.

Daigneault is still open to using different bodies to guard Wemby. However, Hartenstein has solidified his role in this series. The series now shifts to San Antonio for Games 3 and 4, with Game 3 on Friday night (8:30 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock) at the Frost Bank Center.

He’s going to be crucial as the Thunder have to win a game on the road to win this series. And shutting down Wembanyama as far as they can is going to be the key factor to attain that result.