While the loss certainly wasn’t what the Thunder wanted to see, it gives the team a chance to reset in mid-December as it did a year ago. Last year, the Thunder’s loss in the cup final against the Milwaukee Bucks was a bit of a wakeup call for the team and clearly helped provide some motivation for the rest of the year.

The Thunder traveled back to OKC with some money in their pockets. They received $107K per player. For context, the NBA Cup winner sees each player get $531K. The runner-up will see $212K per player. And the quarterfinals losers get $54K per player.

Oklahoma City hadn't lost in nearly six weeks before Saturday night, but is still in great shape to challenge the Warriors' NBA record.

Victor Wembanyama returned from a 12-game absence to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 111-109 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Hall of Famer has an emotional stake in the San Antonio Spurs, the team he helped win four championships, and this was before the Spurs played the behemoth from Oklahoma City in the semifinals. Let’s just say that, after the fact, that stake has now intensified.

Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs snapped the Oklahoma City Thunder's record 16-game win streak with a 111-109 win in the NBA Cup semifinals.

Preparing for the NBA Cup, Gilgeous-Alexander had quite a handful of notable quotes from what he was asked at the December extravaganza. It's one thing for pundits and fans to wonder if the Thunder could make history with the absurd amount of wins they get. It's another to hear OKC's franchise superstar fully embrace those talks.

The Magic and Knicks square off first in a game that could provide fans a preview of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks and Magic are among the best teams in the East this season, with New York coming into the game on a four-game winning streak.