Overview
- San Antonio beat Oklahoma City 117-102 on Christmas in the Paycom Center, completing a 3-0 run over roughly 12 days and handing the champs their first home loss of the season.
- The sweep narrowed the Western Conference gap to 2.5 games as the Spurs moved to 23-7 and the Thunder to 26-5.
- Oklahoma City shot 38.9% from the field and 11-for-44 from three, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander held to 22 points on 7-of-19 shooting.
- Victor Wembanyama continued to impact games on a minutes limit while De’Aaron Fox (29 points), Stephon Castle and rookie Dylan Harper powered a guard-driven attack that repeatedly executed against OKC’s defense.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said losing three straight in a short span means the opponent was better, coach Mark Daigneault credited the Spurs’ execution, and Kendrick Perkins criticized Chet Holmgren’s approach as the teams look ahead to two more regular-season meetings.