LAS VEGAS (AP) — Oklahoma City got tested, which is rare.

The Thunder didn't win, which is even rarer.

There will be no NBA Cup this season for the reigning NBA champions, whose 16-game winning streak ended in a 111-109 loss to San Antonio in the tournament semifinals Saturday night. The Thunder are 24-2, with both losses by two points.

“It wasn't our sharpest night,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “They're a good team. Credit them. They played great. There's a lot of controllable stuff from that game that wasn't where we'd like to be.”

There's no cause for alarm. Oklahoma City has tied the second-best 26-game start in NBA history. Golden State was 25-1 in 2015-16; the Thunder join the 2008-09 Boston Celtics, 1969-70 New York Knicks and 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers at 24-2.

They shot a season-low 41% from the field, shot 9 for 37 from 3-point range — their third-worst effort from deep this season — and let the Spurs turn 15 turnovers into 26 points.

And after all that, they lost by one bucket on a night where Victor Wembanyama returned for San Antonio and gave the Spurs a major boost.

“I think an average team would probably be like, ‘Oh, it’s the Cup, whatever, we lost one,’" Thunder guard Jalen Williams said. “What are we, 24-2? I mean, we can go home and just hang our hat on that, or we can look at it as a way to get better and understand that we played against a playoff team that beat us.”

Thunder guard and reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said it felt odd to lose. And what he said next was eye-opening.

“Personally, I think it's exciting," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "It's easier to learn when you don't feel the way you want to feel. It stings a little bit more. We'll also see these guys a few more times in the next couple games, so it'll be a good challenge. It's like an automatic test almost in school; you fail the test, you get to re-test a couple days later. That's what it'll probably feel like. Losing is where you find growth.”

Indeed, they do play twice in the coming weeks: Dec. 23 in San Antonio and then Christmas Day in Oklahoma City. Those were going to be big games anyway. They might be a smidge bigger now.

“Playing in bigger-moment games, games with a little bit more on the line, they definitely help sharpen a tool for later in the season when the moments matter,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “All these experiences, you definitely can grow from.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Catch by catch, Kyle Pitts Sr. put the mistake-prone Atlanta Falcons on his back and carried them to a thrilling comeback victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Thursday night got even better for the fifth-year pro when the former University of Florida star learned his 11-reception, 166-yard, three-touchdown performance that keyed a 29-28 win was the most productive game by an NFL tight end in nearly three decades.

The previous tight end to finish with at least 10 catches, 150 yards receiving and three TDs in a game was Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe in 1996.

The 25-year-old Pitts noted he wasn't even born yet back then.

“Man, I love the state of Florida,” the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Pitts said as he stepped up to the podium in the visiting interview room at Raymond James Stadium.

“It means a lot,” he added about the mention of Sharpe. “It's a great person to be (compared to).”

Kurt Cousins targeted Pitts a team-high 12 times, leaning heavily on the young tight end with leading receiver Drake London out with a knee injury. Pitts scored on receptions of 8, 17 and 7 yards, the latter trimming what had once been a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit to 28-26 with 3:34 remaining.

His last catch, on third-and-28 from the Atlanta 29, was for 14 yards. Cousins threw 21 yards to David Sills V on fourth-and-14 to set up Zane Gonzalez's 43-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.

“It was the plan, you know, all along. Kyle is our guy,” second-year Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “You're down a couple of your guys like Drake, some of those guys, and Kyle has really filled in that role and become the lead dog guy. He has done an awesome job.”

The Falcons (5-9) are eliminated from playoff contention, but they relished the opportunity to play spoiler against the division-rival Bucs (7-7), who are trying to win the NFC South for the fifth straight season.

“It's amazing. I mean, we've been having our ups and downs through the year,” Pitts said. “Obviously, it's not fun being eliminated early, but we're resilient. ... It was just pretty fun to get that win.”

The Falcons overcame a team-record 19 penalties for 125 yards. They also withstood a wide-open Sills dropping what would have been a go-ahead TD catch in the third quarter, as well as Bijan Robinson's third-quarter fumble that led to the touchdown that put Tampa Bay up by two scores early in the fourth.

“It's a steppingstone to where we want to go,” Morris said. “We talked about this, building blocks for what we've got to do. What we're talking about is next year. ... Only thing we can do right now is finish.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

The National Women's Soccer League could soon adopt a roster mechanism that would allow teams to sign certain players over current salary cap rules, a person with knowledge of the proposal told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to publicly disclose discussions, first reported by ESPN. Any policy change would have to be approved by the NWSL Players Association.

Details about the new mechanism were not available but it would help teams sign and retain top players while still maintaining the NWSL's salary cap.

The issue has attracted attention in the past two weeks as the Washington Spirit have sought to re-sign Trinity Rodman, one of the league's biggest stars.

The Spirit and Rodman struck a multiyear deal last week that was vetoed by the league. The NWSLPA filed a grievance in response, maintaining that the denial violated Rodman's free agency rights.

On Tuesday the Spirit said they were continuing to work with the NWSL and Rodman's representation to reach a resolution that would keep her with in the league. Rodman, who won a gold medal with the United States at the Paris Olympics, has been drawing interest from European teams that don’t have the same salary restrictions.

The NWSL’s salary cap is $3.5 million for each team for the 2026 season, although it will rise each year until it hits $5.1 million in 2030.

The union did not provide specifics about the offer to Rodman, but said the compensation structure fit within the salary cap and was calculated to include team revenue share.

The league can raise the salary cap at any time, the union has maintained.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer