Spurs have upperhand over Thunder in brewing rivalry
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, according to the catchy marketing slogan that has been around for years.
It’ll likely be disproven this week.
The NBA loves rivalries: Lakers vs. Celtics, Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James in the never-ending GOAT debate, Reggie Miller vs. Madison Square Garden, that sort of thing. Another one has been brewing in recent months and might have finally reached official status last week in Las Vegas, when San Antonio ousted Oklahoma City in the NBA Cup semifinals and handed the Thunder what was just their second loss of the season.
On Tuesday in San Antonio, Keldon Johnson had 25 points, Stephon Castle added 24 points and the San Antonio Spurs stormed past Oklahoma City 130-110 to win a seventh straight game and beat the Thunder for the second time in 10 days.
And as schedule luck would have it, they clash again on Christmas Day before what will be a global television audience. And the question was posed to Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whether this could become the best rivalry in the NBA.
“There’s a good chance,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 33 points in their latest loss, their third in the last five games after opening the season 24-1.
He’s not wrong. It seems to meet the criteria as San Antonio is now second in the West after winning 14 of its last 17.
The Thunder are the reigning champs with a roster that makes it seem like they should contend for more titles over the next several seasons. The Spurs are the franchise trying to recapture what was a perennial role as a championship contender, led by a generational talent in Victor Wembanyama. Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning MVP; it won’t be long until Wembanyama starts getting votes for that trophy.
No love lost here
It doesn’t seem like the teams are overly fond of one another; it’s not wild and crazy when they meet, but it’s also fair to say both sides seem to play like there’s a little something extra on the line in these matchups.
And both teams are basically the biggest game in their respective towns; neither city has an NFL, NHL or Major League Baseball team to brag about.
“I think we’re on the right path,” Wembanyama said last week. “And for the first time in my career—not in the case of everybody in our group—but for the first time in my career, we’re winning much more than we’re losing. So, it’s a lot of pleasure.”
“It’s always fun to go against good teams, especially when they are young, athletic, kind of play a similar brand,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And yeah, moments like (those) definitely help you sharpen tools for later in the season when you really want to win big.”
