Spurs beat Thunder four of five

The San Antonio Spurs went 4-1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder across five meetings in the 2025-26 season before the teams opened the Western Conference finals on Monday, May 18. NBA.com’s playoff series preview said Oklahoma City, which finished 64-18, lost four of its 18 regular-season games to San Antonio. Sports Illustrated’s series preview reported the same season-series result ahead of the conference finals. The matchup put the West’s top two seeds into a series with a June 3 NBA Finals berth at stake. Oklahoma City held home-court advantage as the No. 1 seed, while San Antonio entered as the No. 2 seed after a 62-20 regular season, according to NBA.com team pages and the league’s playoff schedule. (cdn-uat.nba.com) ### Which five games made up the 4-1 Spurs edge? NBA.com’s San Antonio schedule lists five Spurs-Thunder meetings in the broader season calendar: an NBA Cup semifinal on Dec. 13, regular-season games on Dec. 23, Dec. 25 and Jan. 13, and the conference finals opener on May 18. Sports Illustrated’s preview said the teams “played five times during the regular season,” but the official NBA schedule pages show the Dec. 13 meeting was the Emirates NBA Cup semifinal in Las Vegas rather than a regular-season game. (nba.com) The Spurs won the Dec. 13 Cup semifinal 111-109 in Las Vegas. The Spurs then beat the Thunder 130-110 in San Antonio on Dec. 23 and 117-102 in Oklahoma City on Dec. 25 before Oklahoma City answered with a 119-98 home win on Jan. 13. Those four completed games account for San Antonio’s 3-1 edge in official head-to-head contests before the playoff series began; NBA.com’s playoff preview framed the broader season picture by noting that four of Oklahoma City’s 18 losses came against San Antonio. (nba.com) ### Why does the count differ between “regular season” and “season meetings”? Sports Illustrated’s betting preview used “regular season” language while describing five meetings and a 4-1 Spurs advantage. The NBA’s official game pages and schedule indicate only three of those Spurs wins came before the Jan. 13 regular-season finale, with the Dec. 13 result coming in the in-season tournament knockout round. (nba.com) The NBA’s own playoff preview appears to use “this season” more broadly. That distinction matters because the Cup semifinal counted in the teams’ season history but not in the 82-game regular-season standings. ### What stood out in San Antonio’s wins? (si.com) De’Aaron Fox scored 29 points in the Spurs’ 117-102 Christmas Day win in Oklahoma City, according to the NBA game summary. The Associated Press recap on NBA.com said San Antonio’s Dec. 25 victory was its third win over the defending champions in two weeks, after earlier victories in Las Vegas and San Antonio. (cdn-uat.nba.com) Victor Wembanyama scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the Dec. 13 NBA Cup semifinal after returning from a 12-game absence, the AP recap on NBA.com said. The Dec. 23 rematch in San Antonio ended 130-110, with NBA.com describing it as Oklahoma City’s fourth loss of the season and its most lopsided defeat to that point. (nba.com) ### How is the conference finals scheduled? NBA.com’s playoff schedule lists Game 1 for Monday, May 18, at 8:30 p.m. ET in Oklahoma City on NBC and Peacock. Game 2 is set for May 20 in Oklahoma City, followed by Games 3 and 4 in San Antonio on May 22 and May 24. The same NBA schedule lists Games 5 through 7, if necessary, for May 26, May 28 and May 30. (nba.com) NBA.com’s key dates page says the 2026 NBA Finals begin on June 3 on ABC. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2)