Spurs Move to Two Games Back of Thunder for Top Seed

The Spurs took care of business against the Grizzlies behind Victor Wembanyama, who was able to leave the blowout after the third quarter.

When he went to the back, he would have seen that the Thunder had lost in Boston. As San Antonio wrapped up a 128-90 win in Memphis, they moved to within two games of Oklahoma City for the West's top seed and the league's best record.

The race for the 1 seed has obvious implications for homecourt advantage in the playoffs, but also could decide who wins MVP. If the Spurs are able to catch the Thunder in the standings, they have the tiebreaker thanks to their 4-1 record against the defending champions this year. That domination of the team widely seen as the title favorite is one of three things Victor Wembanyama cited as an argument for his MVP case.

Wembanyama finished this game with 19 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 7 blocks in just 27 minutes. Every starter scored in double figures, along with Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes off the bench.

The Thunder have been just about as good as the red-hot Spurs after the All-Star break, but OKC's schedule is pretty challenging to close the season. Seven of their nine remaining opponents have winning records, including games against the Knicks, Pistons, Lakers twice, Clippers, and Nuggets. Oklahoma City hasn't had the best record against top teams, and they'll face some tough tests down the stretch.

The Spurs, on the other hand, have an easier road. The toughest games will be one against the Clippers and two against the Nuggets. If they can take advantage of the softer schedule, which they've been doing a better job of lately, and win most or all of their remaining games, the Thunder will have a very slim margin for error.

San Antonio has reached 55 wins on the season with their seventh in a row. They're 23-2 since the start of February, the best team in basketball during that stretch. They have the league's fourth-best defense, best offense, and highest net rating, outscoring opponents by 13.2 points per 100 possessions in that stretch.

The Thunder started this season with a 24-1 streak, chasing the 73-win Warriors until the Spurs beat them three times in two weeks to derail their pursuit of history. Now San Antonio is closing the year on a similar heater, and they have a chance to knock the defending champs out of the top spot. If they do it, it'll be hard to give the MVP to anyone other than Wemby.