No Victor Wembanyama, Devin Vassell, and Jeremy Sochan, no problem for the San Antonio Spurs.
Missing their top three scorers, Keldon Johnson stepped up to the plate in a thrilling 110-104 decision over the Oklahoma City Thunder to record their first ever NBA Cup win.
Johnson uncorked 22 points off the bench built on five threes six threes, as San Antonio avenged its loss earlier in the season against an OKC side missing big man Chet Holmgren for the fifth straight game.
GAME 2 DUB ?@FrostBank | #sponsored
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 20, 2024
Keldon Johnson is on a TEAR 😳
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) November 20, 2024
Harrison Barnes added 20 markers while Chris Paul shrugged off a thumb injury to drop a 14-point, 11-assist double-double.
THIS CP3 BUCKET 😱
— NBA (@NBA) November 20, 2024
Shot clock winding, falling away....
🏆 West Group B
🏀 OKC-SAS on TNT
Wembanyama missed his second straight game due to a knee injury while Vassell (left knee soreness) and Sochan (broken thumb), the Spurs' second and third leading scorers this season, are also out.
San Antonio is also without head coach Gregg Popovich for the 10th straight game. The five-time champion coach suffered a mild stroke on November 2 and no timetable has been given for the league’s longest-tenured coach to return to the sideline.
Despite their absences, the Spurs led by as many as 21 points and weathered a late Thunder uprising that cut San Antonio’s lead to six, 104-98, on the back of a 21-6 run.
OKC STORMING BACK 👀
— NBA (@NBA) November 20, 2024
The 21-point deficit is now just 8 in the 4th quarter...
🏆 West Group B
🏀 OKC-SAS on TNT
Both teams exchanged threes in the next possessions until the Spurs held on with some clutch defense in the final 28 seconds.
Earlier, San Antonio scored the first 11 points of the second half en route to a big 74-58 lead early in the third frame. The Spurs went to outscore the Thunder, 33-20, in that period and carried a 93-77 cushion entering the final frame.are you kidding part 1 🤯 https://t.co/OgkfoOijsE
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 20, 2024
are you kidding part 2 🤯🤯
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 20, 2024
San Antonio rode a 22-9 flurry in the final 5:39 of the second frame to turn a 48-38 deficit into a 60-57 halftime lead. Johnson waxed hot from deep, drilling five threes en route to a 17-point half.
Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did the heavy lifting for OKC with 32 markers while Jalen Williams contributed 27 markers.
SGA STARTING TO COOK... 👀
— NBA (@NBA) November 20, 2024
13 in the 3Q, 27 for the game.
🏆 West Group B
🏀 OKC-SAS on TNT
Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins combined for 24 markers as both teams, alongside the Phoenix Suns, hold an identical 1-1 win-loss in West Group B play.
The LA Lakers (1-0) currently lead the bracket while the Utah Jazz (0-1) remained as the only winless team of the five-team group.
Despite forcing 19 Spurs turnovers, the Thunder shot just 30% from deep and slid to the no. 2 spot in the West behind the Golden State Warriors (10-3).
