VICTOR Wembanyama returned from a 12-game absence with 22 points and nine rebounds to lift the San Antonio Spurs past the Oklahoma City Thunder, 111-109, on Saturday night (Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, PH time) and into the NBA Cup final.
According to the Associated Press (AP), Wembanyama, who was on a minutes restriction because of a strained left calf, logged just 21 minutes but posted a plus-21 rating while drawing “M-V-P” chants from a pro-Spurs crowd in Las Vegas.
Devin Vassell scored 23 points, while De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle added 22 apiece as San Antonio earned its biggest win of the season.
The Spurs will face the New York Knicks in Tuesday night’s (Wednesday in PH) NBA Cup championship game.
Oklahoma City suffered only its second loss of the season that snapped its 16-game winning streak.
The Thunder, whose previous defeat came Nov. 5 at Portland, fell to 24-2 — still the second-best start in the NBA behind Golden State’s 25-1 mark in 2015-16.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 29 points, while Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams scored 17 each.
The Thunder also dropped their second straight NBA Cup game in Las Vegas.
Wembanyama provided an immediate spark upon entering, even as San Antonio trailed by three at halftime. The Spurs closed the first half with a 13-point run, then used a 10-0 surge in the third quarter to take a 62-56 lead and set up a tense finish.
Knicks 132, Magic 120
Meanwhile, Jalen Brunson poured in a season-high 40 points as the New York Knicks beat the Orlando Magic 132-120 to clinch the other spot in the NBA Cup final, the AP reported.
Brunson, who has scored at least 30 points in four straight games, added eight assists and shot 16 of 27 from the field. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 29 points and OG Anunoby added 24 as New York extended its winning streak to five games and improved to nine wins in its last 10.
Jalen Suggs scored 25 of his 26 points in the first half for Orlando before leaving in the fourth quarter with a sore left hip. Paolo Banchero finished with 25 points, while Desmond Bane added 18.
The Knicks shot 60.7 percent from the field and outscored the Magic 70-62 in the paint in a physical, fast-paced game that featured 11 lead changes and 10 ties before New York pulled away with a late third-quarter run. / LBG