San Antonio withstood a monster performance from MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to win the Western Conference Finals. Up next: the New York Knicks.
SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs started the Western Conference finals with a win in Oklahoma City, then ended the series the same way.
The champions are dethroned. Wembanyama and the Spurs are headed to the NBA Finals.
Wembanyama scored 22 points, Julian Champagnie got 18 of his 20 off of 3-pointers and the Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 on Saturday night — bucking heavy odds to win a Game 7 on the road.
“This feeling, I can’t explain it,” Wembanyama said. “It’s so powerful.”
Stephon Castle scored 16 points and De’Aaron Fox had 15. Dylan Harper added 12 and Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell each finished with 11 for the Spurs, who are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014.
They will host the New York Knicks in Game 1 on Wednesday night.
“Back in October, we knew we had a chance to be pretty good,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.
Correction — the Spurs have a chance to be great. Championship-level great.
A huge moment came midway through the fourth, when San Antonio’s Luke Kornet blocked Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Hartenstein at the rim — denying a fast-break score that would have gotten the Thunder within four.
It felt like the last gasp for the Thunder. Kornet played six minutes, missed all three of his shot attempts and finished with only two points, but the block was an epic moment.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 35 points and nine assists, but for the eighth consecutive season the NBA will have a new champion. Cason Wallace scored 17 points, while Jared McCain and Alex Caruso had 12 apiece for the Thunder.
“You have to grow from every experience, including the tough ones,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “And it’s the NBA — there are tough ones. We can also be really disappointed. … There’s nobody that we don’t think we can beat, respectfully.”
After four straight games that were largely decided going into the fourth quarter — the Thunder led Game 3 by 11, the Spurs led Game 4 by 18, the Thunder led Game 5 by 10 and the Spurs led Game 6 by 26, those leads all holding up with relative ease — this one was different, worthy of a Game 7.
Spurs 80, Thunder 77 was the score going into the fourth, a bit of a back-and-forth contest where the Spurs led by as many as 14 in the first half and then by as many as 11 in the third, only to see the Thunder come roaring back both times.
“The players did what they’ve been doing all year and they met the biggest moment,” Johnson said.
The Spurs pulled away in the fourth again, daring the Thunder to try to come back one more time. The champions — short-handed, with Jalen Williams sidelined with a bad hamstring — just didn’t have anything left.
“Winning an NBA championship is very hard in itself to do one time,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “So to do it all over again would just only make it harder.”
San Antonio won eight of the 12 meetings against the Thunder this season — and in the end, the only matchup that really mattered.
“We want four more,” Wembanyama said. “We’re not done.”
Live blog of Game 7 below.
End of 4Q: Spurs 111, Thunder 103
The Spurs are in.
In a game that saw San Antonio grabbing its first double-digit lead just a few minutes in, the Silver & Black kept their composure – and the momentum – to stave off every Thunder run and win the Western Conference Finals.
Victor Wembanyama finished with 22 points and seven rebounds; Julian Champagnie added 20 points while hitting six of 10 from downtown for his best performance of the series.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a game-high 35 points, but the rest of the Thunder’s starting lineup combined for just 31 points.
The Spurs advance to their first NBA Finals since 2014 with the win; they’ll face the New York Knicks.
4Q, 6:48 remaining: Spurs 97, Thunder 91
With the season hanging in the balance, OKC went on a small run of their own and forced Wemby into committing his fifth foul with just a shade under seven minutes left in Game 7.
4Q, 8:00 remaining: Spurs 97, Thunder 86
The Spurs offense put the defending champs on the ropes with several threes and taking advantage of steals with fastbreak points, starting the final frame on a 17-9 run.
4Q, 9:52 remaining: Spurs 89, Thunder 82
Keldon Johnson started the 4th with back-to-back makes from behind the arc before Wemby started giving SGA a taste of his own medicine by taking a quick trip to the line to extend the lead to seven points.
End of 3Q: Spurs 80, Thunder 77
Despite SGA leading the game in scoring with 31 points, Wemby and the Spurs are holding on to a 3-point lead heading into the last quarter of the Western Conference Finals.
Free throws late in the third frame allowed OKC to stick around and keep things close heading into the 4th quarter.
3Q, 4:45 remaining: Spurs 76, Thunder 65
Chamagnie helped the Spurs extend their lead as he led the team with 17 points and five 3-pointers midway through the third quarter.
Wembanyama wasn’t too far behind him with 15 points and two from behind the arc himself.
HALFTIME: Spurs 56, Thunder 53
After going six quarters without having a lead in the series, the Thunder took their first lead of Game 7 on the back of a 13-point 2nd quarter from SGA.
Fox answered the call with a three, followed by a quick putback dunk from Johnson for the Spurs to take the lead back with a minute left in the half.
Wembanyama put a cherry on top of the first half with a bank shot to put the Spurs up by three points before heading to the locker rooms.
2Q, 3:09 remaining: Spurs 47, Thunder 44
Both teams continued playing at a fast pace to try and beat the defensive matchup down the court, which helped get SGA back into the game as he scored 11 of the last 13 points for OKC.
A hard foul from Caruso on what looked like an easy layup from Castle almost got things heated before Dylan Harper saved his teammate from a potential a scuffle.
2Q, 7:15 remaining: Spurs 42, Thunder 33
The Spurs still have a healthy lead, but the Thunder bench is asserting itself early, outscoring the Spurs reserves 16-7. OKC’s bench players have been a strength for a Thunder team that’s often been without the services of Ajay Mitchell and Jalen Williams – two of their leading scorers in these playoffs – during the Western Conference Finals.
End of 1Q: Spurs 32, Thunder 25
A first quarter of runs (and another errant Wemby elbow, this one resulting in an offensive foul) ends with the Spurs up seven after the Thunder started chipping away at what was a double-digit lead midway through the frame.
San Antonio has sported an attentive defense so far, forcing six OKC turnovers for seven points. Crucially, every Spurs starter is contributing–all five scored in the first half and made at least 50% of their field goals, aside from Devin Vassell (seven points, 2-of-6).
Stephon Castle’s nine points leads all players so far.
1Q, 6:32 remaining: Spurs 18, Thunder 8
With authority!
A thunderous Castle jam punctuates an 18-8 Spurs run to start Game 7; San Antonio has taken advantage of some early Oklahoma City turnovers and smart passing to grab the first double-digit lead on either side.
Hot starts have been characteristic of the Spurs in this series, and indeed in these playoffs. The question is whether they can keep their foot on the gas as things progress.
1Q, 8:12 remaining: Spurs 10, Thunder 4
Area 51 is shining an early tractor beam down on Oklahoma City.
Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama have eight of the team’s first 10 points in the early going, combining for a perfect 4-for-4 from the field in San Antonio’s game-opening salvo.
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