LAS VEGAS — Oklahoma City got tested, which is rare.
The Thunder didn't win, which is even rarer.
There will be no NBA Cup this season for the reigning NBA champions, whose 16-game winning streak ended in a 111-109 loss to San Antonio in the tournament semifinals Saturday night. The Thunder are 24-2, with both losses by two points.
“It wasn't our sharpest night,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “They're a good team. Credit them. They played great. There's a lot of controllable stuff from that game that wasn't where we'd like to be.”
There's no cause for alarm. Oklahoma City has tied the second-best 26-game start in NBA history. Golden State was 25-1 in 2015-16; the Thunder join the 2008-09 Boston Celtics, 1969-70 New York Knicks and 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers at 24-2.
They shot a season-low 41% from the field, shot 9 for 37 from 3-point range — their third-worst effort from deep this season — and let the Spurs turn 15 turnovers into 26 points.
And after all that, they lost by one bucket on a night where Victor Wembanyama returned for San Antonio and gave the Spurs a major boost.
“I think an average team would probably be like, ‘Oh, it’s the Cup, whatever, we lost one,’" Thunder guard Jalen Williams said. “What are we, 24-2? I mean, we can go home and just hang our hat on that, or we can look at it as a way to get better and understand that we played against a playoff team that beat us.”
Thunder guard and reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said it felt odd to lose. And what he said next was eye-opening.
“Personally, I think it's exciting," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "It's easier to learn when you don't feel the way you want to feel. It stings a little bit more. We'll also see these guys a few more times in the next couple games, so it'll be a good challenge. It's like an automatic test almost in school; you fail the test, you get to re-test a couple days later. That's what it'll probably feel like. Losing is where you find growth.”
Indeed, they do play twice in the coming weeks: Dec. 23 in San Antonio and then Christmas Day in Oklahoma City. Those were going to be big games anyway. They might be a smidge bigger now.
“Playing in bigger-moment games, games with a little bit more on the line, they definitely help sharpen a tool for later in the season when the moments matter,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “All these experiences, you definitely can grow from.”
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