The Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Cup Quarterfinal on Wednesday evening, marking a franchise-record 16th consecutive victory. Now, they turn their attention to Las Vegas, where they will take on the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup Semifinal.
Isaiah Hartenstein is finally making his return after missing a couple of weeks with a strained soleus, and this will be the first time since Game 7 of the NBA Finals last season that the Thunder has had all 5 of their starters healthy, available, and good to go. On top of that, Isaiah Joe is the only remaining rotation guy still on the injury report.
Meanwhile, Victor Wembanyama is expected to make his return to the San Antonio Spurs after missing extended time with a calf strain. The Spurs are having a solid season so far at 17-7, and they are hoping to make some noise via an appearance in the NBA Cup Championship.
This is the first of three meetings between the Thunder and the Spurs over the next 12 days, with the final one coming on Christmas Day. All three games should be exciting as the rivalry between Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama continues to grow with every matchup.
OKC has arrived as the dominant force in the NBA. The San Antonio Spurs are currently ascending in the West. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looks like one of the best players—if not THE best player—in the world. Victor Wembanyama is quickly becoming one of the top young talents in the league. With the added incentive of the NBA Cup Championship game appearance on the line, tonight’s game should have some fireworks.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 8 PM CT
Location: T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Television: NBA on Prime Video
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, San Antonio Spurs Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Spurs
- PG: Chris Paul
- SG: De’Aaron Fox
- SF: Devin Vassell
- PF: Harrison Barnes
- C: Bismack Biyombo
Injury Report
Thunder
- Isaiah Joe (left knee contusion) is OUT.
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (surgical recovery) is OUT.
Spurs
- Harrison Ingram (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- David Jones Garcia (G League — two-way) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Riley Minix (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Victor Wembanyama (strained left calf) is PROBABLE.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder are 30-30 against the Spurs in the regular season (20-10 at home, 10-20 away) and 10-8 against them in the playoffs (7-2 at home, 3-6 away).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City, the Thunder have won the season series with the Spurs 5 times, lost 7 times, and tied 5 times.
- The Thunder went 2-1 against the Spurs last season (1-0 at home, 1-1 on the road).