Just a couple of weeks ago, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City for the third time in less than two weeks. The sky was falling in OKC, and the Spurs were being crowned the new favorite to win the 2026 Finals. At least that’s what a lot of national media wanted you to believe.
A lot has happened in the 17 days since then, however. OKC has gone 7-2 since then, the 2nd-best mark in the league since Christmas Day. Meanwhile, the Spurs have struggled at 4-5 since Christmas. The Thunder is almost completely healthy—Isaiah Hartenstein continues to miss time—and Victor Wembanyama is back in the starting lineup for San Antonio. Not a lot of time has passed since Christmas, but plenty has changed, and that sounds like an opportunity for OKC to rewrite the script that the Spurs are the Thunder killers.
Regular-season games don’t necessarily predict postseason success. Obviously, a team wants to have the best record possible to maintain homecourt advantage in the playoffs, but just because a team wins a head-to-head matchup in the regular season does not mean that’s how it will go in the playoffs. Still, the Thunder would like to get this one tonight, if not just for the general morale of the fanbase.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander performed particularly below his standard on Christmas Day, so don’t be surprised if he leads the charge in terms of focused energy. Add to the fact that Chet Holmgren has had a pretty great stretch of games since the Christmas Day loss, and it feels like this game should be different. The Spurs are going to come at the Thunder with everything they have, but OKC should be more ready this time around.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: NBC/Peacock
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: Chet Holmgren
Spurs
- PG: De’Aaron Fox
- SG: Stephon Castle
- SF: Justin Champagnie
- PF: Harrison Barnes
- C: Victor Wembanyama
Injury Report
Thunder
- Luguentz Dort (left foot soreness) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Isaiah Hartenstein (strained left soleus) 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 OUT.
- Stanley Umude (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Devin Vassell (strained left adductor) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 30-33 against the Spurs in the regular season (20-11 at home, 10-21 away, 0-1 at neutral location) 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).
- OKC is 0-3 against the Spurs so far this season (0-1 at home, 0-1 on the road, and 0-1 at a neutral location).