Spurs persevere to pacify Thunder, 89-96.

Jeremy Lin had a season-high 18 points to get the win.

Jeremy Lin (18 points) sparked a scoring rhythm for a huge Spurs third quarter run, 39-18, leading to a perseverant win for the antsy home crowd ushering in the new year. To Chip Englund's delight, Lin buried 3-3 from long range in this game in a down game for Dejounte Murray (2-7).

The Thunder held a small lead that nearly opened up on the Spurs, a familiar pain v. Golden State, but with the help of Jeremy Lin & Taurean Prince, the San Antone dynasty was able to find its championship-caliber resilience and shooting spark, splashing in fifteen long shots in the contest, thanks to Nik Stauskas (9 points) and Prince (14 points) combining for six 3-PT daggers.

Timofey Mosgov was an iron wall that held off bursts by OKC, collecting four blocks overall with 8 rebounds, as defensive effort clearly came back into the hearts of the Spurs talents, as no easy layup went up to the basket without a hack for the whistle. OKC struggled at the free throw line, too, paying off for the defensive effort. Avery Bradley came alive in the second half, finishing with 12 points and 3 steals, hitting 2-2 from deep. Joe Harris also knocked in two for 12 points, despite another chilly game for Brandon Ingram (3-11).

For OKC, Terrence Ferguson had 15 points; Chris Paul dished 6 assists with 14 points, going 6-14 though; Shai-Gilgeous Alexander had 14 points with 7 assists. Steven Adams had a solid 12-and-12, and Danilo Gallinari had 11 points with 12 rebounds.