Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs started the Western Conference finals with a win in Oklahoma City, and they finished the series there the same way.
The Spurs stunned the Thunder 111-103 on Saturday night at Paycom Center in Game 7, ending Oklahoma City’s title defense and sending San Antonio to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014. The Spurs will open the Finals against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
Wembanyama led San Antonio with 22 points, while Julian Champagnie delivered 20 points, including 18 from behind the arc. Stephon Castle added 16 points, De’Aaron Fox scored 15, Dylan Harper finished with 12, and Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell each added 11.
The game was tight for much of the night. San Antonio led 80-77 after three quarters, but unlike the previous four games in the series, this one stayed in the balance long enough to demand a fourth-quarter response.
That response came from the Spurs, who pulled away again late and forced the Thunder into one last chase that never fully materialized. A key sequence came midway through the fourth when Luke Kornet blocked Isaiah Hartenstein at the rim, erasing what would have been a fast-break basket and a chance to cut the margin to four.
Oklahoma City did not go quietly. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points and nine assists, Cason Wallace scored 17, and Jared McCain and Alex Caruso added 12 apiece, but the Thunder could not produce enough late offense without Jalen Williams, who remained sidelined with a hamstring injury.
The series was shaped by momentum swings, but San Antonio won the biggest games. The Spurs took eight of 12 meetings against the Thunder this season, and they won the only one that mattered most, eliminating the league’s defending champions and closing the door on a repeat.
The Thunder had reached the postseason with the best record in the Western Conference and looked ready to extend their run, but San Antonio’s size, shot-making and composure in Game 7 changed the story.
