If the recent meetings between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder proved anything, it's that the latest NBA rivalry officially has been born.

The OKC Thunder suffered a home loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday in what marked its first Christmas Day game since 2018. Here are takeaways.

For the first time since 2018, the Oklahoma City Thunder will be participating in the NBA's Christmas Day slate, taking on the San Antonio Spurs this afternoon.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have now lost three straight games to the San Antonio Spurs after falling 117-102 at home on Christmas Day.

Veteran guard De'Aaron Fox led the way with 29 points on an efficient 12-for-19 shooting. Backcourt mate Stephon Castle added 19 points of his own, with Victor Wembanyama chipping in 19 points and 11 rebounds from the bench. Harrison Barnes and Dylan Harper combined for 27 points and nine rebounds.

On Christmas Day, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs faced off for the third time in two weeks. San Antonio had gotten the better of the Thunder in the previous two matchups, ousting OKC from the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas,

Both the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder may be without multiple key players in Thursday's Christmas Day matchup.

Before the Spurs/Thunder match up last night, both coaches were individually asked about the “budding rivalry” between the two young teams. Mitch Johnson and Mark Daigneault both replied with a sense of apprehension toward stoking those flames while expressing respect for their opponent.