San Antonio vs. Oklahoma City, Final Score: Spurs drop preseason opener to Thunder 112-107

Photos by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images

Julian Champagnie shines in Spurs’ sloppy preseason debut.

The San Antonio Spurs started the preseason lacking some of the hallmarks that will define the team in the regular season. Chief among them was size. The Spurs were without Victor Wembanyama, Zach Collins, and Charles Bassey as they faced the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC was able to get whatever they wanted in the paint against the undersized Spurs on their way to a 112-107 victory.

The Thunder outscored the Spurs 56-36 in the paint and shot 50.5% from the field overall. San Antonio struggled with turnovers, coughing the ball up 21 times which led to 26 points off giveaways. Despite the poor defense and turnovers, the Spurs shooting kept them in the game. San Antonio shot 39.5% from deep on 43 attempts.

They were led by Julian Champagnie who started at shooting guard in place of the injured Devin Vassell. He had 22 points and 7 rebounds while going 6-13 from three. Sandro Mamukelashvili added 14 points off the bench, knocking down three triples. Jalen Williams led the Thunder in scoring with 18 points in just 17 minutes.

San Antonio will get a day off before taking on the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, October 9th.

Observations

Stephon Castle had an up-and-down debut in the Silver and Black. The rookie looked physically ready for the next level and showed flashes of his court vision with some sweet cross-court passes. He struggled with turnovers, finishing the game with 5 points, 3 assists, and 6 turnovers. Castle’s handle looked loose when he was pressured by the Thunder’s tough perimeter defenders. He’ll look to tighten up his mistakes as the preseason goes on.
Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley got extended run, playing 18 minutes a piece. Wesley brought the intensity on the defensive end and made some nice dishes on the offensive end, finishing with 3 points, 7 assists, 2 steals, and just one turnover. Branham made some nice moves offensively, but was inefficient overall, shooting 5-14 from the floor on the way to 12 points.
A slimmed-down Keldon Johnson looked… mostly the same? He still made aggressive drives to the bucket offensively and inconsistent defensively. His progress is something to track as the preseason continues.
Riley Minix and Malachi Flynn stood out among the Spurs training camp invitees. Flynn tried to get the Spurs back in the game with a scoring run late in the fourth quarter as he finished with 9 points. Minix hit a sweet turnaround in the post and nailed a spot up three on his way to 8 points off the bench.