Spurs beat the Lakers to advance to the West NBA Cup Semifinals versus the Thunder.
SAN ANTONIO — Without Victor Wembanyama due to injury, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119 on the road and punched their ticket to the NBA Cup Semifinals 2025. Stephon Castle led the team with 30 points and 10 rebounds.
De’Aaron Fox had 20 points and three assists, and Dylan Harper finished with 13 points. Keldon Johnson scored 17, and Julian Champagnie had 16 and seven rebounds. Harrison Barnes added 16 points and three rebounds.
The Spurs are 18-7 and will next face the Thunder on Saturday night in Las Vegas for the NBA Cup West Semifinals.
Here’s a sample of what the Spurs and Lakers said after the game.
Mitch Johnson:
“I thought our competitive response was good, and then obviously a team like that’s going to make runs, and they have a lot of ways to impact the game. They’ve been in those games so many times and when you get a little wobbly or bend a little bit, you need to just kind of double down on the game plan execution, playing together, do the more the little things as much as it feels like you need some big play to be made and thought we did a really good job of that.”
“I think just the maturity that we had coming to the game. I think our pace was great from the start of the game, kind of opened up the court for us. I mean they had a couple of loud plays, but I feel like we came together and clamped down what we needed most.”
Keldon Johnson:
“We’re coming here to make noise. And that’s my job as being a leader of the team. And I feel like I went out there and led with my actions in the first quarter, and everybody kind of followed, and it was a good vibe, and we continue to trust in each other, lean on each other throughout the game, and ultimately that’s what it ended up being for us.”
“I thought it was a great example of guys just staying the course. I think it was something that we talked about coming into the season, just trying to get to Vegas, trying to play for something. Obviously, as a young group, when we haven’t won as a collective, it’s hard to talk about the playoffs because it’s so far away. But I thought this represented a great example for us of just stepping up in big moments and just doing it, like I said, as a group.”
“I think we responded well to their (Lakers) run and playing against a team like that. I think they’re a second in the west coming to this game. They’re not going to go away. They’re going to make it a game. And in that fourth quarter, they did, but we were able to answer it and be able to finish the game out. And I think that’s a mature win. That’s what we would call it.”
“Just to be in this type of environment with this team is great. It’s very fun. Just playing with guys that know that we’re going to play for each other no matter what. There are no egos, and just being in this winning environment.”
LeBron James: