San Antonio vents ire on Washington after NBA Cup loss

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The San Antonio Spurs let all their frustrations out against the Washington Wizards, 119–94, following a disappointing NBA Cup grand finals loss to the New York Knicks.

On Dec. 19, 2025, the Spurs redeemed themselves in the best possible way, handing the Wizards a beating in the ongoing NBA regular season.

After letting their double-digit lead slip away against the Knicks, San Antonio made sure no dramatic comebacks would be pulled off on their home floor, as they stomped Washington from the moment the official game buzzer sounded.

Everything fell into place for the win-seeking Spurs as they dominated the Wizards in almost every game department of the interconference clash.

After a pumped-up Devin Vassell helped the Spurs take the early lead, the bench mob—spearheaded by daredevil guard Dylan Harper—took care of the rest and made it easy for the starting unit to protect the cushion they built.

The Spurs didn’t even need a heavy scoring performance from superstar floor general De’Aaron Fox, while maintaining their rotation that placed Victor Wembanyama in the second unit alongside Harper, Stephon Castle, and Julian Champagnie.

Washington tried to inch closer after finishing the second quarter strong, but a San Antonio mayhem in the second half made life miserable for the Wizards as the silver and black built their biggest lead of the game—26 points—midway through the third frame.

A series of looping three-pointers from Vassell, Champagnie, Keldon Johnson, and Wembanyama turned a four-point game into a one-sided affair, backstopped by the paint dominance of Luke Kornet, who schooled Alex Sarr’s interior defense.

The fourth and final frame was even worse for the visiting Wizards after San Antonio’s defense limited them to their worst-scoring period of the game, with only 19 points.

With six minutes still left to play in regulation, the Wizards’ coaching staff had already seen enough, pulling out Sarr, CJ McCollum, and the rest of their star players as a sign of retreat.

Harper led all San Antonio scorers with a game-high 24-point performance, built on an efficient 9-of-13 shooting from the field, along with five rebounds and three assists.

Supporting Harper in the Spurs’ collective offensive barrage was Vassell, who dropped 18 markers, while Castle and Wembanyama added 17 and 15 points, respectively.