OffRtg: 118.2 (6) DefRtg: 112.2 (5) NetRtg: +6.1 (7) Pace: 101.1 (16)
The Spurs came up short in the Emirates NBA Cup final on Tuesday, but they’ve won their last six games that count toward the regular-season standings. They’re second in the West and one of three teams that rank in the top six on both ends of the floor.
Three takeaways
1. The Spurs hadn’t played De’Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle together through the first three games that all three were available. But when the Cup final went to clutch time, it was those three plus Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama who were on the floor together. That group couldn’t get the job done (it was outscored, 14-8, in the final 4:09) against the Knicks, but it could be the lineup that the Spurs call on in big moments going forward.
2. There were no big moments over their next three games, with the Spurs leading all three by at least 24 points. They had everybody available for both games of their Thursday-Friday back-to-back, and they were their two biggest wins (combined margin of 53 points) since opening night in Dallas.
3. Wembanyama has been back for just four games (that count), and he’s played just 81 minutes (all off the bench) in those four games. But that’s all it’s taken for the Spurs to climb from 16th (before his return) to fifth in points allowed per 100 possessions. They’ve allowed just 88.3 per 100 in those 81 minutes with him on the floor, with the context being that 39 of the 81 came against the Wizards.
Coming up: The Spurs and Thunder are playing five times this season because they met in the NBA Cup semifinals. All five meetings are in the span of six weeks (Dec. 13 to Feb. 4), and the second and third are this week as the Spurs are in Oklahoma City on Christmas. Wembanyama had 42 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks in his Christmas debut, a three-point loss in New York last year.