Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio progress to the NBA Cup championship game after beating the defending NBA champions.
Victor Wembanyama delivered 15 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter in his return from a calf injury, and the San Antonio Spurs earned a spot in the NBA Cup final with a 111-109 upset of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Devin Vassell scored 23 points, and De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle added 22 apiece as San Antonio handed the Thunder just their second loss in 26 games this season.
The Spurs will play the New York Knicks in Tuesday night’s NBA Cup final. The Knicks beat the Orlando Magic 132-120 earlier on Saturday in the other semifinal.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points for the Thunder, who had their franchise-record 16-game winning streak halted. Oklahoma City had not lost since November 5 at Portland.
Wembanyama returned after a 12-game absence and was limited to 20 minutes. He collected nine rebounds, and San Antonio outscored the Thunder by 21 when Wembanyama was on the floor.
Jalen Williams had 17 points, seven rebounds and four steals, and Chet Holmgren added 17 points for Oklahoma City. Alex Caruso had 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals off the bench, and Isaiah Hartenstein contributed 10 points and nine rebounds.
The Thunder pulled within 106-105 on a dunk by Gilgeous-Alexander with 14.9 seconds left.
Castle made two free throws with 9.8 seconds remaining to give San Antonio a three-point lead. After the Thunder again pulled within one, Vassell made two free throws with 3.3 seconds left to give the Spurs a 111-108 lead.
Williams was fouled and made the first free throw with 1.5 seconds left. He missed the second on purpose, but Caruso’s follow sailed behind the basket.
The Spurs made 41.1 percent of their field-goal attempts, including 13 of 42 from behind the arc, while winning for the 18th time in 25 games this season.
Oklahoma City shot 41.3 percent from the field and was just 9 of 37 from 3-point range.
The Spurs took their first lead at 57-56 on a basket by Fox with 8:45 left in the third quarter.
That was part of a 10-0 run that ended with Vassell’s three-pointer to put San Antonio up six with 7:58 remaining.
Fox made two free throws with 0.1 seconds to go as San Antonio took a 78-77 lead into the final quarter.
The Spurs were up five in the fourth quarter before the Thunder used an 11-3 push to take a 93-90 edge on Caruso’s basket with 6:47 remaining.
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