The San Antonio Spurs are now 3-1 in the season series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, although the most recent loss might have set the tone for a possible playoff series.
The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are easily the two best teams in the Western Conference, and while the Spurs still boast a 3-1 series lead over OKC, the Thunder showed why they are the best team in the NBA, beating San Antonio 119-98 on Tuesday night.
The Spurs were led by Stephon Castle's 20 points, although they continued to struggle in the backcourt, with De'Aaron Fox only offering 14 points on five-of-nine shooting from the floor. Isaiah Hartenstein missed the game for the Thunder, although Victor Wembanyama struggled to find his groove, offering an inefficient 17 points while getting met by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the rim multiple times.
While the Spurs let this one slip away, fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Wembanyama set a high-minutes mark since returning from a calf injury, and he got beat up in the paint.
How Spurs Escaped Disaster vs. Thunder
Midway through the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander and Wembanyama bumped knees, and Wemby went down. He would hobble off the court after the next possession and was clearly in pain. However, he was quick to return to the floor, although the Thunder ripped off a 13-0 run, effectively icing the game.
Wembanyama also took shots to his ankle and head in the second half, and seemingly spent more time on the floor than on the floor. The Thunder have gotten away with being the league's most physical team all season long, and in a possible playoff preview, the Spurs were simply no match.
Clearly, frustrations boiled over as SGA and Castle were called for double technicals in the final minutes. The pair had been talking trash all game, and the MVP's 34 points only proved that he is the better player, even if Castle's defense did get under his skin.
The Spurs still own the season series win and will have one last chance to widen their lead later in the season. Of course, if both teams are allowed to play with this degree of physicality, the Spurs might continue to struggle.
Given that Wembanyama had an injury scare that turned out not be too serious, the loss did have a silver lining. Losing Wembanyama for a prolonged period would spell doom on a great season for the Spurs so far.