"VICTOR WEMBANYAMA SHOUTED as he snatched the ball and flexed, standing on the trophy painted into the lane at T-Mobile Arena. With the Spurs leading by three points, Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren had just missed the first of a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining in the Emirates NBA Cup semifinal on Dec. 13, essentially punching San Antonio's ticket to the final."
"Keldon Johnson queued up Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" minutes after the victory and blasted it in the locker room on his portable speaker. As the Spurs celebrated an NBA Cup final berth, the Thunder were already looking forward to their three rematches with San Antonio over the next month, starting with a home-and-home on Tuesday in San Antonio and Christmas Day ( 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) in Oklahoma City."
"Regardless of any individual grudge, this was a win worth celebrating for the Spurs. They had snapped the defending champions' 16-game winning streak in the most high-stakes game of the Wembanyama era, an indication the young Spurs were already a force to be reckoned with despite nobody on the roster having ever played a playoff game in a San Antonio uniform."
Victor Wembanyama celebrated after grabbing the ball and flexing while standing on the painted trophy in the lane at T-Mobile Arena. With San Antonio ahead by three, Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren missed the first of two free throws with eight seconds left in the Emirates NBA Cup semifinal on Dec. 13, sending the Spurs to the final. Wembanyama and Holmgren have maintained a frosty competitive relationship since their 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup meeting. The Spurs snapped the defending champions' 16-game winning streak, celebrated in the locker room, and will meet the Thunder in rematches, including Dec. 25 in Oklahoma City.
Read at ESPN.com
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