Spurs assert themselves, take down Thunder again in Christmas spotlight

De’Aaron Fox scored 29 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 117-102 road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, December 25 (Friday, December 26, Manila time).

The Spurs have won eight consecutive games – which does not include the NBA Cup final loss to the New York Knicks on December 16 – extending their longest winning streak since 2018-19.

The Thunder have dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season and have lost four of their last six since starting the season 24-1.

Three of Oklahoma City’s five defeats this season, including each of the last two, have come to San Antonio. The setback was also the Thunder’s first home loss — not including to the Spurs in the NBA Cup semifinals on December 13 — after starting 14-0 in Oklahoma City.

The win was the Spurs’ first on Christmas since 2016 and they are 6-7 all-time going back to 1977.

Victor Wembanyama, who came off the bench for the sixth consecutive game since missing nearly a month due to a calf injury, finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in nearly 26 minutes. Stephon Castle also had 19 points and Harrison Barnes added 15 in the victory.

San Antonio shot 53.6% from the field, their second consecutive game above 50%. Prior to Tuesday’s 130-110 Spurs win, no team had shot better than 48.8% against the Thunder this season.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 22 points but was just 7-for-19 from the field, including 1 of 6 from beyond the arc. Isaiah Hartenstein paired 13 points with 12 rebounds, and no other player scored more than 12 for the Thunder, who were just 38.9% from the field and 25% on three-pointers.

The Spurs led by 17 in the third quarter and by 16 to start the fourth before Oklahoma City cut the deficit to single digits with a 9-2 run to start the fourth.

But soon after, Wembanyama drained a three-pointer to extend the lead back to 14 and the Thunder never were within striking distance again.

San Antonio grabbed the lead for good late in the first quarter, finishing with a 17-4 run over the final four minutes. The Thunder were 2-for-9 to close the quarter as the Spurs exploded for 41 first-quarter points.

Oklahoma City finally found some defensive footing after halftime, holding the Spurs to 26 points in the third quarter.

But San Antonio’s defense continued to make it difficult to find success, as the Thunder shot just 26.9% from the field, going 1 of 12 from beyond the arc, for 19 points in the period. – Rappler.com