The San Antonio Spurs dropped their first game of the NBA season on Tuesday night, losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 116-104.

Fans were expecting a tight matchup, with the Spurs narrow 2.5-point favorites, but the Thunder jumped out to an early lead, thanks to blistering shooting from deep combined with San Antonio being ice-cold in the second quarter.

The Spurs were led by Stephon Castle's 24 points, but it wasn't enough. Victor Wembanyama was stellar on defense, as expected, although he couldn't get it going on offense. He finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and six blocks. Wemby will shake the rust off as the season progresses, although he simply has to be better moving forward.

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Spurs Left Reeling After Loss to Thunder

There's no reason to panic. The Spurs and Thunder are expected to be the last two dogs standing in the Western Conference this season, and should go back and forth all season long.

It stands to reason that Wembanyama will be much better as the season goes on. He went only one of 13 from the field, jacking up shots from deep simply to get his confidence up, which did not work. Harper, meanwhile, often looked like the best Spur on the court, and in this game, he was, getting to the rim with an ease really only seen in guys like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Donovan Mitchell, and Cade Cunningham.

The Thunder were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 32 points, but it seemed the team as a whole could not miss. They shot 45.2 percent from 3-point range, putting the Spurs to shame the entire game. Moving forward, the recipe for success is simple: make shots and get Wembanyama going early.

Of course, there are 81 games left for the Spurs to get that right.

Another (perhaps season-long) project for the Spurs to figure out will be the starting lineup. Mitch Johnson started Harper, Fox, and Castle, although he was quick to sub Fox out for Julian Champagnie in the first quarter. Moving forward, expect Johnson to stick with that roster, although he should be quick to change tactics if games get off to slow starts.

The Spurs will look for their first win of the season on Friday against the Houston Rockets.