Luguentz Dort scored 20 points Wednesday night as the Thunder remained undefeated with a 105-93 win over the visiting San Antonio Spurs in Oklahoma City.
The showdown between the Thunder’s Chet Holmgren and San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, two of the best young big men in the league, never really materialized.
Wembanyama limped to the locker room after appearing to injure his foot on a post-up during the second quarter and was a non-factor when he returned. The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year finished with a career-low six points, going just 1-of-5 from the field, and grabbed eight rebounds. He didn’t attempt a shot in the second half.
Wembanyama has been held to less than 10 points four times in his first 75 career games. Two have happened at Oklahoma City.
The Thunder took advantage after Wembanyama went down, with Holmgren scoring seven points during a 14-7 run to help Oklahoma City stretch its lead to 42-26 at the 7:15 mark of the second.
Holmgren, who finished runner-up to Wembanyama for top rookie honors, had 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting with five boards and two blocks. He made all three of his 3-point tries as the Thunder made a season-high 17 from beyond the arc, including 13 before halftime. Oklahoma City also tallied a season-best 28 assists.
The Thunder led by 19 in the first half and maintained that cushion in the third quarter before the Spurs pulled within 82-75 with 10:23 left in the fourth. A 9-2 Oklahoma City run put the hosts in control once again.
Harrison Barnes led San Antonio with 18 points, while Jeremy Sochan added 17 points and nine rebounds.
The Thunder racked up 18 steals and flipped 22 San Antonio turnovers into 27 points.
Opponents are averaging 94.75 points per game against Oklahoma City, which is 4-0 for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
After Boston’s loss at Indiana earlier in the night, the Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers are the only undefeated teams in the league.
–Field Level Media
