Wembanyama powers Spurs past Thunder in 2OT to open West finals

Victor Wembanyama delivered a historic performance with 41 points and 24 rebounds, while Dylan Harper added 24 points and a team playoff-record seven steals as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-115 in a double-overtime thriller to open the Western Conference finals on Monday night, News.Az reports, citing AP.

Wembanyama sealed the victory with two dunks in the final minute of the second overtime, including one that resulted in a three-point play, helping the Spurs steal home-court advantage.

San Antonio has now beaten Oklahoma City five times in six meetings this season.

Stephon Castle scored 17 points for the Spurs, while Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson each added 13. Julian Champagnie contributed 11 points as San Antonio played without De’Aaron Fox, who was sidelined because of ankle stiffness.

“A great effort — from everybody,” Wembanyama said after becoming the youngest player ever to record at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game. At 22 years and 134 days old, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was 22 years and 343 days old when he posted a 40-point, 20-rebound game during the 1970 NBA Finals.

Alex Caruso came off the bench to score 31 points for the Thunder, marking the second-highest scoring performance of his career. Oklahoma City’s nine-game playoff winning streak, dating back to Game 7 of last season’s NBA Finals, came to an end.

Jalen Williams returned after missing six games with a hamstring strain and finished with 26 points for the Thunder. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who received his second consecutive Most Valuable Player award earlier in the evening, recorded 24 points and 12 assists but struggled shooting, going 7-for-23 from the field.

The matchup marked only the sixth Game 1 in NBA playoff history to reach double overtime and the first since a Spurs-Warriors postseason game in 2013.

As the game stretched late into the night, Wembanyama took over.

Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday in Oklahoma City.

“It was a war of wills,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “The levels of mental toughness exuded by both teams ... we needed every second from everybody that played.”

San Antonio led by 10 points with 9:10 remaining in regulation but allowed the Thunder to erase the deficit. The closing minutes featured multiple momentum swings, with the lead changing hands twice and the game tied three times in less than two minutes.

Wembanyama had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but Chet Holmgren blocked his off-balance attempt. The Spurs star responded in overtime by drilling a deep game-tying 3-pointer with 28 seconds left, forcing a second overtime period.

“We have to get better from this game,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.

Gilgeous-Alexander endured one of the roughest first halves of his recent career, scoring only four points on 1-for-5 shooting before halftime. It marked the first time since Oct. 29, 2023 — a stretch spanning 270 games, including playoffs — that he failed to make at least two field goals before halftime.

Meanwhile, Wembanyama dominated early, throwing down dunks over multiple defenders, showing emotion throughout the game, and finishing the first half with 14 points and 10 rebounds in a composed playoff debut.

Even so, the Spurs held only a 51-44 lead at halftime.

Gilgeous-Alexander found his rhythm in the third quarter and briefly helped Oklahoma City regain the lead. However, San Antonio remained composed and entered the fourth quarter ahead 80-73.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev