Three Takeaways From OKC Thunder Blowout Loss vs. Spurs

The Oklahoma City Thunder were blown out against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night here are three takeaways from that affair.

Dec 23, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) draws a foul from San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) while driving to the basket during the first half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City battled the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night in a back-and-forth affair. This game continues to show how great both teams are and what a fun matchup this is between the two Western Conference foes. The Thunder and Spurs will meet for the third time in two weeks on Christmas Day in a standalone contest on National TV, which will again display that this would be an all-time fun postseason series.

The Spurs answered every single Thunder run and eventually pulled away in the final frame to bury Oklahoma City and hand them half their losses this season dropping the Bricktown Ballers to 26-4 on the season.

This was a lopsided loss for the Thunder, 130-110, that had Oklahoma City waving the white flag in the final frame, unlike the previous three defeats.

Dec 23, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots ahead of San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) during the first half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Three Takeaways From OKC Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs

Spurs defense is legit

The San Antonio Spurs led by Victor Wembanyama anchoring the back end of their defense and it allows their high-level point of attack defenders to play even more harassing defense on the outside and funneling the Thunder into the paint for tough shots or non existent shots. They are athletic across the board in most lineups and are able to close out hard on triples stalling out OKC's offense in a big way and not letting the Bricktown Ballers catch any groove in two straight games. Not to mention upping the Thunder's turnover total, a team that averages the second fewest giveaways in the entire NBA on a night-to-night basis.

Lu Dort has Bounced Back

While this game was not pretty, the offense was even considered ugly, Dort did his job, coming through with five triples, most of them timely buckets, to keep the Thunder hanging around in this game. This has been an ice-cold start to the season from Dort from beyond the arc. In each of his last two games, he has posted over three 3s.

Thunder Need More From Chet Holmgren

Holmgren has shown flashes this season of reaching his All-Star and even All-NBA ceiling. In these two matchups with San Antonio, against Wembanyama, he has been neutralized to a non-factor. The Spurs had their way in the paint against the shot blocker, shooting 91% at the cup where they took 36% of their shots. On the offensive end, Holmgren only mustered seven points, three rebounds, an assist and a block while shooting a lowly 30% from the floor.

Up next, these two squads clash on Christmas Day after the entire NBA takes Christmas Eve off. Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of this Oklahoma City Thunder season.