NBA: 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.

The Spurs have now won eight consecutive games — not including their NBA Cup final loss to the New York Knicks on Dec. 16 — marking their longest winning streak since the 2018-19 season.

Oklahoma City, meanwhile, has dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season and has lost four of its last six after starting the season 24-1. Three of the Thunder’s five defeats this season, including the last two, have come against San Antonio. This loss also marked the Thunder’s first home defeat — excluding the NBA Cup semifinals loss to the Spurs on Dec. 13 — after starting 14-0 in Oklahoma City.

The win was San Antonio’s first on Christmas since 2016, improving their all-time record on the holiday to 6-7 dating back to 1977.

Victor Wembanyama, who came off the bench for the sixth consecutive game after missing nearly a month with a calf injury, contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds in almost 26 minutes. Stephon Castle also scored 19 points, while Harrison Barnes added 15 in the victory.

The Spurs shot an efficient 53.6% from the field, marking their second straight game above 50%. Before 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 three-point range. Isaiah Hartenstein added 13 points and 12 rebounds, while no other Thunder player scored more than 12 points. Oklahoma City struggled from the field overall, shooting 38.9% and just 25% on three-pointers.

San Antonio built a 17-point lead in the third quarter and carried a 16-point advantage into the fourth before the Thunder cut the deficit to single digits with a 9-2 run early in the final period. Wembanyama then hit a three-pointer to push the lead back to 14, and the Thunder never got closer again.

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

Oklahoma City showed some defensive improvement after halftime, holding the Spurs to 26 points in the third quarter. However, San Antonio’s defense kept the Thunder off balance, limiting them to 19 points on 26.9% shooting, including 1-of-12 from beyond the arc, in the same period.

—Field Level Media/Reuters