The NBA Cup semifinals will dazzle Las Vegas! Don’t miss the Oklahoma City Thunder facing off against the San Antonio Spurs at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday. This matchup follows the earlier clash between the New York Knicks and the Orlando Magic, which begins at 5:30 p.m. ET. The winners of these two contests will advance to the finals scheduled for Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
The Oklahoma City Thunder come into this very highly touted match-up at 24-1. Currently, they are mirroring the historic beginning of the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, tying for the best record through 25 games in NBA history. On an individual level, they’ve matched a franchise record by winning 16 straight games. The Thunder, last year’s NBA champions, fought their way to the NBA Cup final last season. Unfortunately for them, fate would have it that they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks.
I know the San Antonio Spurs are feeling pretty good coming off an impressive win. They defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119 in the quarterfinals to advance. In that semifinal game, Stephon Castle turned in the marquee performance of the Tournament, scoring 30 points while pulling down 10 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists. The Spurs are at least starting to build some healthy momentum, but roadblocks lie deadliest ahead. They’ll be without their star player, Victor Wembanyama, who hasn’t played since Nov. 14 with a calf injury. He is due back Saturday, all things holding steady.
After dominating the last half of the regular season, the Thunder enter finals as heavyweights among this year’s semis. Not only do they carry with them their championship pedigree, but they also have experience gained from having competed in Las Vegas last time out. The Spurs look to improve upon their newfound success. They illustrated their explosiveness when they led their final game on the field by as much as 24 points.
In addition to these teams’ dynamics, disciplinary actions have been noted in the league as Desmond Bane was fined $35,000 by the NBA for unsportsmanlike conduct involving a basketball thrown at New York’s OG Anunoby. These kind of incidents only serve to ramp up the drama further as groups fight tooth and nail to come out on top.
The clash between the Thunder and Spurs could very well be one of the most exciting matchups in recent history, as both teams are specially talented and motivated. With Oklahoma City’s stellar record and San Antonio’s recent performance, fans can expect an electrifying game that could very well set the tone for the finals.
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