SAN ANTONIO – Few teams can beat National Basketball Association (NBA) champions the Oklahoma City Thunder, but the San Antonio Spurs seemed to have found a way.
On Dec 23, Keldon Johnson and Stephon Castle combined for 49 points as the Spurs produced an impressive second-half scoring blitz to rout the Thunder 130-110.
Ten days after eliminating Oklahoma City from the NBA Cup semi-finals, they once again proved too strong for the Western Conference leaders as they powered to their seventh straight victory in San Antonio.
Coach Mitch Johnson did not discredit the win, but at the same time he made sure to remain grounded.
“We beat this team twice, but if that team beats that team and (so on), then, by that logic, everybody is the best and everybody is the worst,” he said.
“This league’s a monster, and we have a good record. We get credit for those wins… and that’s what it is. Doesn’t mean anything more, doesn’t mean anything less. We’ve played 29 games.”
Starting shooting guard Castle finished with 24 points including four three-pointers but the key contribution came from Johnson, who added 25 off the bench including five threes.
The Thunder fell to 26-4 after the loss, while the Spurs improved to 22-7 to stay in second place in what is shaping up to be a battle in the West.
San Antonio’s star man Victor Wembanyama finished with 12 points while reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder scoring with 33 points.
“It shows how serious we are – we’ve got the same aspirations that they have, we just want to come out and compete every time we play them,” said Castle, who poured in 10 of his 24 points during the fourth quarter in which the Spurs outscored the Thunder 43-28.
The Denver Nuggets, who are in third place, missed the chance to close the gap on Oklahoma City after losing a thrilling duel 131-130 against the Dallas Mavericks on the road in Texas.
Mavericks prodigy Cooper Flagg once again stole the show, with the gifted 19-year-old No.1 draft pick scoring a game-high 33 points with nine rebounds and nine assists.
Flagg’s performance was backed by 31 points from Anthony Davis as Dallas outdueled Nuggets duo Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, who accounted for 60 Denver points.
The Nuggets almost snatched victory at the buzzer, but Peyton Watson’s wide open three-point attempt bounced out after hitting the rim.
“We’re just coming together, trying to have each other’s backs,” Flagg said. “Obviously Jamal and (Jokic) had it going – so we were just trying to take those guys away and make somebody else beat us.”
Dallas improved to 12-19 while the Nuggets slipped to 21-8 in the West.
Flagg also took encouragement from another hard-fought win by the Mavs, who last week took down the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons.
“We’re learning from all of these experiences,” he added. “You know we’ve been in a lot of really close games, so just trying to take stuff from those games and learn from it and get better.”
Elsewhere, Anthony Edwards rattled in 38 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves took down the New York Knicks – who are second in the East on 20-9 – 115-104 in Minneapolis.
Edwards knocked down four three-pointers while teammate Julius Randle added 25 points as the Wolves eclipsed a 40-point performance from Karl-Anthony Towns.
Knicks star Jalen Brunson, who scored 47 points in Sunday’s win over Miami, missed the game with a right ankle problem.
In another game, Dillon Brooks scored 25 points, Devin Booker went for 21 points and 11 assists and the Phoenix Suns rolled past the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 132-108.
Phoenix took the lead for good late in the first quarter against a Lakers side playing without NBA leading scorer Luka Doncic, who suffered a leg injury Saturday against the Clippers.
The Suns steadily built on their advantage and blew the game open with a 45-point third quarter. AFP, REUTERS
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