OKLAHOMA CITY — For the third time in two weeks, the San Antonio Spurs defeated All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 117-102 win. While some considered the Thunder's Christmas Day matchup against the Spurs a must-win, Gilgeous-Alexander revealed what a third loss in two weeks to the Spurs means.

For Gilgeous-Alexander, the Spurs have proven themselves better than the defending champions, he said, during his postgame media availability.

“We have to get better as a group. You don’t lose to a team three times in a row in a short span without them being better than you,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We have to get better. Look in the mirror, and that’s everybody from top to bottom, if we want to reach our ultimate goal.”

 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander extended his streak of scoring 20+ points to 101 with 22 points on 7-of-19 shooting, including 1-for-6 from deep, and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line. He also finished with six points, four assists, and one steal. Isaiah Hartenstein notched a double-double (13 points, 12 rebounds), and Jalen Williams added a dozen points, six assists, and two steals.

De'Aaron Fox's 29 points on an efficient 12-for-19 shooting, including 3-for-4 from deep, led five Spurs players in double figures. Stephon Castle had 19 points on 8-of-11 attempts, seven assists, and one steal. Victor Wembanyama led the bench production with 19 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal in 26 minutes.

The Thunder will continue its four-game homestand against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.

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Why Kendrick Perkins considered Thunder's game a must win

With an opportunity to respond to the Spurs' win, ESPN's Kendrick Perkins considered Christmas Day a must win for the Thunder. For Perkins, crushing the up-and-coming Spurs' confidence was imperative, he said, per ESPN's Get Up.

“I do for the psyche and I know we’re talking about the defending champs, but it is a must-win for Oklahoma City. We haven’t seen a team like this in what? For over a year and a half that’s made Oklahoma City this uncomfortable and then on top of that talk about it and throw it in they face so when you look at the personnel of San Antonio has: the big guards, the big wings on the perimeter, it’s time for OKC to make a statement.

Anytime you get a chance to boost your confidence as a ball club and kill another team’s confidence, you want to do that. Right now the Spurs are on cloud nine, No. 2 in the Western Conference, they feel confident they could walk into a series and beat you. You want to kill that confidence and if you’re SGA, you want to have a chip on your shoulder, you want to take it personal. I do think it’s a must win for Oklahoma City.”

While the Thunder's league-leading record dropped to 26-5 on Thursday, the Spurs improved to 23-7, trailing the defending champion by 2.5 games atop the Western Conference standings.