Keldon Johnson poured in 25 points off the bench and Stephon Castle added 24 as the host San Antonio Spurs waylaid the Oklahoma City Thunder 130-110 on Tuesday in a matchup of teams with the best records in the Western Conference.
Oklahoma City led by a bucket at halftime as the teams traded runs and the lead. The Spurs leapfrogged to an eight-point advantage late in the third quarter and went to the fourth up by five.
San Antonio stoked the margin to 12 on Victor Wembanyama’s 3-pointer with nine minutes to play as part of a 9-0 run. A 3-pointer by Castle with 4:51 left pushed the lead to 110-94 and a Johnson jumper from beyond the arc with 3:13 remaining expanded the margin to 18 and all but finished off the defending champions.
The Spurs have won seven straight for the first time since December 2015; two of those victories are against Oklahoma City, the league’s top team all season.
Harrison Barnes had 20 points for San Antonio, with Devin Vassell hitting for 17 and Wembanyama scoring 12 off the bench. Julian Champagnie grabbed 10 rebounds and Dylan Harper recorded 10 assists for the Spurs, who shot 56.5% from the field and 44.4% from beyond the arc. Wembanyama did not have a blocked shot, snapping a 101-game streak with at least one block.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 33 points for the Thunder, who have dropped three of their past five following a 24-1 start. Jalen Williams added 17 points and eight assists, Luguentz Dort scored 15, Kenrich Williams hit for 10 and Isaiah Hartenstein had 12 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which lost despite shooting 54.1% from the field and 40% from 3-point range.
Johnson’s runner with seven seconds to play granted the Spurs a 31-29 lead after the opening period.
Isaiah Joe’s two free throws at the 6:43 mark of the second quarter put Oklahoma City back in front at 45-43. The rest of the period featured five ties and eight lead changes, the final occurring when Dort poured in a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left to give the Thunder a 60-58 advantage at the break.
Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 16 points before halftime. Barnes paced the Spurs with 13 while Johnson added a dozen.
Oklahoma City was up by four after a Gilgeous-Alexander layup with 6:46 to play in the third quarter before the Spurs fashioned a 14-2 run capped by Johnson’s 3-pointer from the corner for an 84-76 lead. San Antonio carried an 87-82 advantage into the final period.
