Keldon Johnson, Victor Wembanyama lead Spurs past short-handed Thunder

Keldon Johnson scored 25 points and Victor Wembanyama added 22 points and 14 rebounds to lead the host San Antonio Spurs to a 116-106 win over the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday in a battle between the top two teams in the Western Conference.

The win was the second straight for the Spurs as they captured the season series against Oklahoma City 4-1 — although Wednesday’s victory should come with an asterisk.

The conference-leading Thunder had just eight available players. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal strain), Chet Holmgren (back spasms), Isaiah Hartenstein (eye corneal abrasion) and Luguentz Dort (patellofemoral joint inflammation) all stayed back in Oklahoma City as did Jalen Williams (hamstring strain) and Alex Caruso (adductor injury management), with the latter two players missing their ninth and eighth consecutive game, respectively.

Even undermanned Oklahoma City made the Spurs work for the win. San Antonio led by 15 points at halftime but by only 95-88 after Kenrich Williams’ 3-pointer 35 seconds into the fourth quarter. The Thunder pulled to within four points on Kenrich Williams’ layup with 4:03 left before Stephon Castle answered for San Antonio with back-to-back baskets to give the hosts some separation and they held on from there.

De’Aaron Fox had 15 points and 10 assists for the Spurs while Castle hit for 14 points, Carter Bryant scored 11 and Luke Kornet grabbed 15 boards.

Kenrich Williams led Oklahoma City with 25 points, with Jaylin Williams adding 24 points and 12 rebounds, Aaron Wiggins scoring 20, Brooks Barnhizer hitting for 14 and Cason Wallace finishing with 13 points.

San Antonio built a 39-26 lead after one quarter behind 12 points off the bench from Johnson.

The Spurs stoked their lead to as many as 22 points after a Julian Champagnie layup at the 8:40 mark of the second quarter before Oklahoma City worked to shoot itself back into the game. The Thunder poured in five 3-pointers over the next four-plus minutes to pull within 58-48. San Antonio led 73-58 at the break.

Wiggins led all scorers with 16 points before halftime while Kenrich Williams and Jaylin Williams added 10 each for Oklahoma City.

Johnson’s 13 points paced the Spurs, with Wembanyama and Bryant hitting for 11 points apiece in the first half.

–Field Level Media