SAN ANTONIO, TX - OCTOBER 20: Stephon Castle #5 of the San Antonio Spurs shoots the ball during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 20, 2026 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photos by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images After spotting Oklahoma City a 21 point halftime lead, De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper keyed a Spurs push spanning the third and fourth quarters that fell short under the glare of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s heady bucket getting combined with timely and accurate shooting from his supporting cast. San Antonio failed to demonstrate what Gregg Popovich would describe as ‘appropriate fear’ over most of a disappionting first half in its season opening loss to Oklahoma City. The tale of the Spurs’ futile first half included 14-for-48 from the field (including 0-for-7 from Victor Wembanyama) and failing to stem the tide of the Thunder’s execution (10-for-14 from three) to go down as much as 26 before finding its footing on both ends in a better second half. Wembanyama (12 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 blocks) suffered an 0-fer from the field through nearly three quarters, and San Antonio thus needed every bit of its production from Stephon Castle (24 points and 7 rebounds) and De’Aaron Fox (14 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists) to keep pace. Keldon Johnson (10 points and 2 steals) provided some nasty off the bench. Dylan Harper (18 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists) appeared to roll his ankle after scoring the team’s first basket of the fourth quarter, but returned to action moments later. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (32 points, 5 assists, and 2 blocks) led a (mostly) poised Thunder effort, while Chet Holmgren (14 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks) availed himself well after a disappointing conference finals. Jared McCain (20 points) and Alex Caruso (9 points and 7 rebounds) keyed Oklahoma City to its lead in the first period and beyond. The teams battled with a frenzied pace early on that resembled their late May battles but with far fewer makes. Oklahoma City pieced together a 7-0 run to briefly leap ahead and kept that advantage over the final three periods. The Spurs shook off the rust and shared the ball better from the halfway point on, and seven Spurs scored over the first nine minutes. McCain and Caruso led a surprising three-point shooting barrage that portended future doom – pushing the Thunder out ahead 34-28. After the fireworks of the first quarter, the teams combined for just three total in the first three minutes of the second. The residual bad blood between the teams came to a boil when Fox fouled Holmgren, and the teams had a baseball-style meeting on the mound in the Thunder frontcourt. San Antonio lost its composure from there and the Thunder took advantage of their mental lapses to soar ahead. While the Spurs saw many shots fail to find their target, the Thunder’s halfcourt and transition execution helped the lead balloon to as much as 26. The highly-anticipated starting guard group of Fox, Harper, and Castle kickstarted a Spurs run to start the third. Any progress that San Antonio made seemed to be answered either by Jalen Williams or Gilgeous-Alexander. Fox repeatedly charted a path through the Thunder paint to score a handful of needed baskets. While the Spurs were able to close within single digits on several occasions, Gilgeous-Alexander converted some Kobe-like shots to keep distance between Oklahoma City and the Spurs. Wembanyama finally made his first field goal at the quarter-end buzzer, but San Antonio still was down 13. Observations The spotlight lighting on the court (darkened crowd) is wholly appropriate. Enough of the national pundits’ predictions for this newborn season! Here are our esteemed PtR writers’ set of predictions! Given that tanking is being more sternly looked at, I see us going 56-26! I’m so very happy that Lu Dort took his careening bull-in-a-china shop ways to the other conference. Since it’s behind a subscriber paywall, San Antonio made it again to #1 on Zach Lowe’s League Pass Rankings and these nuggets are pretty cool to see: “The defending Western Conference champions offer so much beyond the all-court authority of Victor Wembanyama—starting with the electric, relentless young guard duo of Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper,” “He is almost certainly their best perimeter defender, though Carter Bryant might have something to say about that soon. Being guarded by Castle seems like a nightmare. You can practically feel him through your screen, bumping his poor mark chest-to-chest full court, staying attached at the hip on screens, reaching for every dribble, rising in time with jump shooters,” “Devin Vassell sports one of the league’s silkiest jumpers,” and in conclusion ”The silver-and-black color scheme is unimpeachable, with occasional fiesta nights brightening the scene. The Coyote is a pants-optional riot, his green, coked-out eyes sometimes tilting 90 degrees so they droop vertically over his snout.“ Gilgeous-Alexander did not fall to the floor on THREE of his first quarter fadeaways. #PROGRESS Carter Bryant – a big NOPE in the first period and unsurprisingly sat the rest of the game. Sequence of the Game #1: On a first quarter drive, Harper, looking like he was in trouble deep in the paint, found a diving Kornet for a power dunk. Sequence of the Game #2: Just like the above sequence, Keldon Johnson soon after rambled down the court before glimpsing Kornet in the paint for a lob dunk. Game Rundown With Wembanyama operating from the Dirk spot, he fed Vassell in the deep corner for the first bucket of the campaign. After two Castle bricks, Holmgren and Harper converted physical layups. Fox went to the bench for Champagnie four minutes in – making the Spurs’ lineup noticeably taller. Coach Johnson challenged an early foul whistled on Wembanyama, and it was overturned due to Hartenstein interfering with the action. Wembanyama drew Hartenstein’s second foul midway through the frame, which brought in Adey Mara – the rookie certainly didn’t embarrass himself in his 10+ minutes. Gilgeous-Alexander’s third field goal put the Thunder up two. Two McCain buckets put the Thunder up eight before Fox and the Spurs countered with their own 6-0 run. However, a pair of Caruso triples supplied Oklahoma City a comfortable six point cushion exiting the first. Both teams found the scoring to be far more difficult in a roughshod and combative second period. Castle was laid out by a Jaylin Williams screen to cause a Thunder turnover. Fox committed a hard foul on Holmgren which caused a commotion between the teams which resulted in THREE different Williams’ confronting Fox and Wembanyama. Fox was assigned a Flagrant 1, while Wembanyama and the three Williams’ were assessed technicals – setting an unofficial NBA surname technical record. A Kenrich Williams three and deflating Jalen Williams breakaway layup put Oklahoma City 46-30. Harrison Barnes 100% made the Spurs’ first basket 4 1/2 minutes into the second. Wembanyama swatted away consecutive Holmgren attempts, but as San Antonio field goal percentage sank below 30%, back-to-back scores from Jalen Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander put the Thunder up 18. Harper’s rebound and putback trimmed the Spur deficit momentarily but were unable to make a run thereafter. Oklahoma City left the first half up 21. San Antonio’s trio of starting guards – Fox, Harper, and Castle – pieced together an opening 9-0 run to start the second half. Vassell picked up three quick fouls checking Holmgren and Jaylin Williams. Castle’s second three brought the Spurs within ten and woke a muted Frost Bank crowd. Castle saw his third three go down to offset a pair of Jalen Williams’ lay-ins. An action-packed sequence saw Castle lose his shoe on a lay-up and Wembanyama swat away an OKC attempt at the other end and dove to the floor to wrest away a loose ball. Johnson’s and-1 again inched the Spurs within ten. Gilgeous-Alexander’s shotmaking prowess helped keep San Antonio at bay. A Johnson foul on Mara that coincided with a shot-clock violation was reiewed and overturned. Fox’s dribble-drive success made up for Wembanyama’s stunning ineffectiveness. After two missed Wembanyama free throws, Gilgeous-Alexander connected on an and-1 to put the Thunder up 13 after three. For the Thunder fan’s perspective, please visit Daily Thunder. San Antonio hosts Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets on Friday October 23 at 8;30 PM CDT on Prime Video. ...read more read less