SAN ANTONIO — The Spurs flipped the script on Oklahoma City again Tuesday night, employing crushing physicality on defense to best the visiting Thunder 130-110 at Frost Bank Center.
It was San Antonio’s second win in 10 days over the defending NBA champions and sets the stage for a Christmas Day clash Thursday at Paycom Center between the budding rivals.
“It feels like saying it’s a rivalry would be a weird thing because it’s something that builds naturally,” center Victor Wembanyama said. “I didn’t say that it’s impossible that it can be [a rivalry] in the future. I hope it will be soon. But we’re definitely getting closer. They’re going to be locked in [on Christmas] more than any time before, probably. It’s a resourceful team, but we’re going to be there too.”
San Antonio made its presence known in the second matchup by imposing a suffocating defense that scored 20 points off 15 Oklahoma City turnovers, while the supporting cast of Keldon Johnson, Stephon Castle and Harrison Barnes blistered the Thunder by racking up 25, 24 and 20 points, respectively.
Franchise superstar Wembanyama (12 points), meanwhile, came off the bench for the fifth consecutive game. His streak of 101 straight games with at least one blocked shot ended.
It was also a night of firsts for the West-leading Thunder. The loss at San Antonio marked the first time this season that Oklahoma City trailed by 20-plus points, according to ESPN Research, as Kelly Olynyk nailed the first of two free throws with 1:23 left to play to give the Spurs a 126-105 lead.
“We had games this year where we had big leads and we let them slip and we ended up in dogfights,” Johnson said. “To see that little step tonight is huge for us. When we get leads like that, we’ve got to continue to make those strides and make great decisions to keep and extend the lead.”
Oklahoma City’s 20-point loss also represents the team’s second-largest regular-season defeat over the past two campaigns, behind a 27-point loss last season on April 6 to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“When you’re learning about yourself or your team, to be able to be in situations and opportunities against the best … they are the champs, and they have the best record in the league,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “So, to be able to have that opportunity to continue to compete and fight against the best, it’s a heck of an opportunity. You’d better be ready to go.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paced Oklahoma City with a game-high 33 points, but the reigning MVP was unable to get to the free throw line at his normal frequency. Gilgeous-Alexander shot a team-high five free throws, but the Thunder finished the game with only seven attempts, compared with 24 for the Spurs.
Gilgeous-Alexander logged his fourth consecutive 30-point outing, good for the third-longest such streak of his career.
“They really played the game on their terms on both ends of the floor,” he said. “They got whatever they wanted offensively, and then, defensively, they had us stagnant, had us playing over the top of them for the most part. When you play against a good team, you can’t play like that for long periods of time because it’ll chip away at itself. And next thing you know, you look up and there’s a big lead.”
San Antonio outscored OKC 60-48 in the paint and 19-5 on the break as rookie Dylan Harper logged a career-high five steals.
The Spurs now head into Oklahoma City on Thursday with the NBA’s longest active winning streak at seven games, which registers as the club’s longest since the 2018-19 season.
Still, Wembanyama remains careful about describing the matchup against the Thunder as a rivalry, despite seeing signs that one might be brewing.
Counting the matchup Thursday, the teams will meet three more times this season.
“The signs are the arena is packed, the energy is different, the physicality from the first to the 48th minutes is up there,” Wembanyama said. “It’s hard to describe, but it’s like [in soccer] when PSG plays Marseille in France. This is a real rivalry. It’s something that’s built [over] years and years. It’s not something you can just make up like this.
“It doesn’t take away that it’s a good matchup. But it takes a lot.”
