San Antonio ignites the NBA 'best' conversation, dominating OKC repeatedly as Victor Wembanyama ramps up.
On the road. At home. In the NBA Cup. Or on Christmas.
The San Antonio Spurs have now won three straight games over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the last two weeks - this time taking down the defending champs, 117-102 - and the Spurs are suddenly the talk of the NBA.
Talk from the Thunder? Yup. They are almost unbeatable in the eyes of the rest of the league, but they are suddenly questioning themselves.
Talk from the media? Yup. The Athletic is now suggesting that Victor Wembanyama and his pals are the best team in the NBA.
Writes the outlet ...
"The Spurs are making a case that they are the best team in the NBA right now. They’ve notched two consecutive wins over the Thunder that ended in garbage time, one on their home floor and one on Oklahoma City’s. They have three guards that can run the offense effectively for 48 minutes, none of whom is even their best player. Victor Wembanyama, still on a minutes limit after returning from a calf injury, isn’t even close to playing his best.''
In this one, Wemby put up 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs as they moved to a 23-7 record after Thursday's matchup. De'Aaron Fox scored 29 and Stephon Castle added 19 points and seven assists.
San Antonio shot 53.6 percent from the field and limited the Thunder to 38.9 percent shooting.
OKC is now 26-5; after San Antonio's eighth straight win, the Spurs are at 23-7 and have the third-best record in the NBA.
The simple math? The Thunder are 0-3 against the Spurs and 26-2 versus everyone else.
Said Wemby: “We’re never going to let the talent of one guy take away from the collective. That’s what allows us to beat great teams like that.”
And the OKC view? That's being expressed by MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
"We have to get better as group," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "You don't lose to a team three times in a row in a short span without them being better than you. We have to get better ... if we want to reach our ultimate goal."
Indeed, but the scary thing about Wemby and the Spurs? They have the same goal in their sights... and they figure to "get better,'' too.