Victor Wembaneyama and San Antonio defeated the defending NBA champions to advance to the NBA Cup championship game.
Published December 14, 2025
Victor Wembaneyama returned from a calf injury and scored 15 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 111-109 upset of the Oklahoma City Thunder in Las Vegas on Saturday night, clinching a spot in the NBA Cup Finals.
Devin Vassell scored 23 points, De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle each added 22 points, and San Antonio suffered its second loss to the Thunder in 26 games this season.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
The Spurs will face the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup Finals on Tuesday night. The Knicks defeated the Orlando Magic 132-120 in the other semifinal on Saturday.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points for the Thunder, whose franchise-record winning streak ended at 16. Oklahoma City hasn’t lost since Nov. 5 against Portland.
Wenbanyama returned after missing 12 games, but was limited to 20 minutes of playing time. He collected nine rebounds, and San Antonio outscored the Thunder by 21 points when Wenbanyama was on the floor.
Jaylen Williams had 17 points, seven rebounds and four steals for Oklahoma City, and Chet Holmgren added 17 points. Alex Caruso had 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals off the bench, and Isaiah Hartenstein contributed with 10 points and nine rebounds.
The Thunder took a 106-105 lead on Gilgeous-Alexander’s dunk with 14.9 seconds left.
Castle made two free throws with 9.8 seconds left to give San Antonio a three-point lead. The Thunder pulled within one point again, but Vassell made two free throws with 3.3 seconds left, giving the Spurs a 111-108 lead.
Williams was fouled and made his first free throw with 1.5 seconds left. He intentionally missed the second one, but Caruso’s follow flew behind the basket.
The Spurs converted 41.1 percent of their field goal attempts, including 13 of 42 from behind the arc, earning their 18th win in 25 games this season.
Oklahoma City shot 41.3 percent from the field and just 9-of-37 from 3-point range.
spurs rally
The Spurs took their first lead at 57-56 on Fox’s basket with 8:45 left in the third quarter.
It was part of a 10-0 run that gave San Antonio a six-point lead on Vassell’s 3-pointer with 7:58 left.
With San Antonio leading 78-77 entering the final quarter, Fox made two free throws with 0.1 seconds left.
The Spurs led by five points in the fourth quarter, and the Thunder took a 93-90 lead on an 11-3 push on Caruso’s basket with 6:47 left.
Oklahoma City jumped out to a 14-4 lead early on, building a 31-20 advantage after the opening period.
Wenbanyama made his first appearance at the start of the second quarter, and the Spurs quickly took a 9-2 lead.
The Thunder went on a 14-2 run late in the quarter and took a 47-31 lead on Caruso’s basket with 3:53 left in the first half.
San Antonio ended the first half with 11 straight points and led 49-46 at halftime.
