Spurs hammer Thunder in San Antonio to set up Christmas Day rematch in Oklahoma City

San Antonio has spent the past 10 days sending Oklahoma City the aforesaid message: the champs are going to person to gain everything.

The Spurs leaned into bruising defence again Tuesday night, forcing turnovers, controlling the paint, and beating the visiting Thunder 130-110 astatine Frost Bank Center. It was their 2nd triumph implicit Oklahoma City successful that span, and it turns Thursday’s Christmas Day gathering astatine Paycom Center into an contiguous measuring-stick game.

Wembanyama keeps the “rivalry” connection connected hold

Victor Wembanyama did not unreserved to statement it, adjacent arsenic the matchups commencement to consciousness heavier. "It feels similar saying it's a rivalry would beryllium a weird happening due to the fact that it's thing that builds naturally," helium said. "I didn't accidental that it's intolerable that it tin beryllium [a rivalry] successful the future. I anticipation it volition beryllium soon. But we're decidedly getting closer. They're going to beryllium locked successful [on Christmas] much than immoderate clip before, probably. It's a resourceful team, but we're going to beryllium determination too."

The ambiance helped his point. "The signs are the arena is packed, the vigor is different, the physicality from the archetypal to the 48th minutes is up there," Wembanyama said. "It's hard to describe, but it's similar [in soccer] erstwhile PSG plays Marseille successful France. This is simply a existent rivalry. It's thing that's built [over] years and years. It's not thing you tin conscionable marque up similar this.

"It doesn't instrumentality distant that it's a bully matchup. But it takes a lot."

Spurs defence and extent acceptable the tone

San Antonio’s defence produced 20 points disconnected 15 Thunder turnovers, portion Keldon Johnson, Stephon Castle and Harrison Barnes powered the discourtesy with 25, 24 and 20 points. Wembanyama scored 12 disconnected the seat for a 5th consecutive game, and his streak of 101 consecutive games with a blocked changeable ended.

Oklahoma City, which leads the West, suffered its archetypal crippled this play trailing by 20-plus points. "We had games this twelvemonth wherever we had large leads and we fto them gaffe and we ended up successful dogfights," Johnson said. "To spot that small measurement contiguous is immense for us. When we get leads similar that, we've got to proceed to marque those strides and marque large decisions to support and widen the lead."

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33, yet helium and the Thunder lived astatine the enactment acold little than usual. "They truly played the crippled connected their presumption connected some ends of the floor," helium said. "They got immoderate they wanted offensively, and then, defensively, they had america stagnant… And adjacent happening you know, you look up and there's a large lead."

Spurs manager Mitch Johnson framed it arsenic a trial worthy chasing. "When you're learning astir yourself oregon your team… they are the champs, and they person the champion grounds successful the league," helium said. "So, to beryllium capable to person that accidental to proceed to vie and combat against the best, it's a heck of an opportunity. You'd amended beryllium acceptable to go."