The Silver & Black aim to secure a commanding Western Conference Finals lead despite a lingering key injury.
SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama became the talk of the sports world after his historic 41-point, 24-rebound performance against the Thunder to kick off the Western Conference Finals.
But that was just Game 1. And if the hostile crowd at Paycom Center was loud Monday night, the Thunder can likely expect them to be even more of a factor to help the team avoid falling into a 0-2 hole before the series shifts to San Antonio.
For their part, the Spurs aren’t resting on their laurels after stealing back home-court advantage from the defending champions. The NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year said as much hours before Game 2.
“We’re not taking no games off,” Keldon Johnson said. “We’re coming to win tonight. That’s the plan. We won one here, but the job’s not done. Can’t be satisfied, can’t get complacent.”
San Antonio is 5-1 in the regular season and playoffs against Oklahoma City; a sixth win would be the young Spurs’ biggest statement thus far in their remarkable playoff push.
But they will again be without the services of All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox, who was ruled out an hour before tipoff due to a high ankle sprain. Dylan Harper is again expected to start in his place; the 20-year-old was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team and proved to be a key Game 1 contributor with his 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and seven steals.
What might also be a factor in Game 2 is the fact that it’s coming just two nights after all five Spurs starters logged 40 minutes in their double-overtime victory, led by Devin Vassell’s 51.
That game was a bonafide instant classic in NBA Playoffs history; come 7:30 p.m. CT, fans will find out if Wednesday night can live up to what fans have joked is the “real NBA Finals.”
Follow along below for live updates from the game.
3Q: 8:42 remaining: Spurs 63, Thunder 66
Jalen Williams is not in the game to start the half for the Thunder. Cason Wallace starts in his place.
OKC now have their largest lead after a Lu Dort midrange jumper. This was followed by a Wemby midrange shot. Harper was then able to bring the game back to single digits with a reverse layup.
Wemby hit a three-pointer to trim the lead to eight. Vassell then hit a three to trim it to five. Harper then hit a lay-up to go down three. The Spurs have outscored the Thunder 12-4 to start the third.
Halftime: Spurs 51, Thunder 62
The Spurs trail the Thunder 62-51. Steph Castle leads all scorers with 16 points. Dylan Harper has eight points. Wemby has seven points, five rebounds and three blocks.
For OKC, Shai has completely outplayed Game 1’s first half as he has 15 points and five assists.
Turnovers are a major problem for the Spurs, having 13 so far with the Thunder having 16 points off those turnovers.
2Q: 1:34 remaining: Spurs 49, Thunder 58
Cason Wallace drained a three to put the Thunder up eight. The Spurs have turned the ball over 11 times.
Following a Castle bucket, Chet Holmgren’s and-one puts OKC up nine.
Castle hits another shot to give him 16 points for the game.
SGA then hit another free throw line jumper to give him 13, a much better start then his Game 1.
2Q: 7:34 remaining: Spurs 41, Thunder 48
The Thunder’s leading scorer from Game 1 Alex Caruso hit his first 3-pointer of the game, putting the Thunder up 36-31.
An absurd putback from Wemby led to an and-one from SGA on the other end.
Caruso’s shot over Wemby put the Thunder up 43-35.
A nice layup from Castle followed by free throws from Devin Vassell helped trim the lead to four.
Stephon Castle absolutely posterized Hartenstein for one of the craziest dunks you’ll ever see. He leads all scorers with 12. He also has five turnovers.
End of 1Q: Spurs 31, Thunder 31
A Chet Holmgren 3-pointer tied the game at 25.
Jordan McLaughlin in his first minutes tied the game at 28 after the Thunder hit a three of their own. Julian Champagnie hit another 3-pointer to put the Spurs up 31-30.
A pair of Ajay Mitchell free throws tied the game at 31 as the first quarter came to a close.
1Q: 3:05 remaining: Spurs 23, Thunder 20
The Thunder started the game shooting 6-7 from the field, culminating in a Jaylin Williams 3-pointer to put Oklahoma City up 14-12.
A Stephon Castle midrange put the Spurs up 18-14. An Ajay Mitchell bucket and Lu Dort 3-pointer put Oklahoma City up 19-18 before a circus shot from Steph Castle, who leads all scorers with eight.
Keldon Johnson then hit a 3-pointer to put the Spurs up 3 going into another timeout.
1Q: 8:59 remaining: Spurs 10, Thunder 9
The Spurs hit back-to-back three-pointers (Vassell and Wembanyama) to take an 10-9 lead early in the first quarter.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander started the game with four quick points to pace the Thunder, already matching his scoring output from the first half of Game 1.
Pregame
De’Aaron Fox won’t suit up for a second straight game.
The Spurs made the announcement official a few hours after the All-Star was spotted at shootaround but not taking shots with teammates.
Historic ratings
The NBA announced that Game 1 of Spurs-Thunder was the most-watched Western Conference Finals opener ever, with 9.2 million fans tuning in on NBC and Peacock. During the game’s second OT period, viewership peaked at 12 million viewers.
That data makes the Game 1 battle the second-most-watched game of the NBA season to date, the league said, bested only by the Game 1 first-round matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics.
The ultimate diehard?
Spurs superfan Diana Munoz doesn’t just have some San Antonio-themed decorations around her house… it’s practically a museum dedicated to the history and culture of the Silver & Black.
KENS 5’s Vinnie Vinzetta got a firsthand look at the home where the undying Spurs passion is as apparent as anywhere else in the city.