The Thunder and Spurs will meet in the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas on Saturday after winning their respective quarterfinal matchups on Wednesday.
The Thunder improved to 24-1 on the season with a blowout home victory over the Suns. The game was never close, as Oklahoma City won each quarter by double-digits and defeated Phoenix by 49 points, making it the most lopsided loss in Suns history.
Oklahoma City made 55% of its three-pointers, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (28 points) and Chet Holmgren (24 points) leading the way and no Thunder player logging more than 27 minutes.
In the late game, the Spurs overcame 35 points from Lakers star Luka Doncic and 26 from Marcus Smart in his return from a back injury to pull off a 132-119 win on the road. Stephon Castle had 30 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists in his second game back from a hip injury, while six other Spurs scored in double digits.
The Thunder and Spurs will face one another on Saturday at 8:00 pm Central time for the right to advance to the NBA Cup final on Tuesday. Players on the losing team in that game will receive bonuses of roughly $106K apiece, while the winning team will face either the Magic or Knicks in the championship game a shot at the top prize ($531K per player).
Notably, Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has a shot to return from his calf strain for that game vs. the Thunder, per head coach Mitch Johnson.
“Very much so,” Johnson said after Wednesday’s win when asked if a Saturday return is in play for Wembanyama (Twitter link via Mark Medina). “He had a very good day today. He had a very intense day this morning. We’ll have to see how he responds and reacts tomorrow.”
The Thunder and Spurs will now play each other five times this season, including three times in December. The two clubs are scheduled to square off on December 23 in San Antonio and on Christmas Day in OKC.
The NBA also announced a handful of scheduling updates on Wednesday night, per Medina (Twitter link). The Suns and Lakers, who only had 81 games apiece on their respective regular season schedules, will face one another on Sunday in Phoenix at 7:00 pm CT.
The Thunder and Spurs had both been scheduled to play games on December 17, but those contests have been pushed back one day to Dec. 18 in order to give them an extra day of rest following the NBA Cup. OKC will now host the Clippers next Thursday, while San Antonio hosts the Wizards that night.