Spurs Silence Thunder in Game Seven to Advance to NBA Finals
In game seven of the Western Conference Finals, the San Antonio Spurs started fast, finished strong, and wore down the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, winning 111-103 on the Thunder's home court. Victor Wembanyama is without question the Spurs' best player, and he came through with a team-high 22 points plus a team-high tying seven rebounds, but this was very much a team effort: all five starters plus two reserves scored in double figures, including Julian Champagnie (20 points while shooting 6-10 from three point range), Stephon Castle (16 points, six rebounds, team-high six assists), De'Aaron Fox (15 points, five assists), Dylan Harper (12 points, team-high tying seven rebounds), Devin Vassell (11 points, six rebounds), and Keldon Johnson (11 points). The Spurs enjoyed narrow edges in rebounding (40-38) and turnovers (committing 12 while forcing 14), but won this game with their energy and force in transition, outscoring the Thunder 19-7 in fast break points.
The Spurs received the Oscar Robertson Trophy for winning the Western Conference Championship, and Wembanyama earned the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP, joining a club that includes Stephen Curry (2022), Nikola Jokic (2023), Luka Doncic (2024), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2025). Wembanyama's Western Conference Finals numbers display his all-around dominance: 27.3 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 3.1 apg, 2.7 bpg, and 1.4 spg with shooting splits of .481/.400/.895. Wembanyama is the first player to make at least 15 three pointers and block at least 15 shots in the same playoff series, and he is the youngest player to lead his team in scoring and rebounding entering the NBA Finals.
The Thunder, who took a 3-2 series lead despite dropping game one at home, played from behind for most of game seven and could not muster enough offense, shooting 37-83 (.446) from the field--including just 12-35 (.343) from beyond the arc--after ranking fifth in the league in scoring (119.0 ppg), fifth in field goal percentage (.484) and ninth in three point field goal percentage (.365) during the regular season. Throughout this series, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played below his usual standard, but he performed at an MVP level in game seven, finishing with a game-high 35 points on 12-21 field goal shooting while also dishing for a game-high nine assists; however, he looked drained by the fourth quarter, and he had only four points on 2-4 field goal shooting in the final stanza. Cason Wallace played well (17 points, seven rebounds, four assists) while starting in place of injured 2025 All-Star Jalen Williams, but the other three starters combined for 14 points on 5-13 field goal shooting. Chet Holmgren, who earned his first selections to the All-Star team, All-NBA Third Team, and All-Defensive First Team this season, had four points, four rebounds, and two blocked shots in 34 minutes. There is no doubt that the Thunder expected and needed more from Holmgren than he provided in this game, but it is worth recalling that Dennis Johnson shot 0-14 from the field in game seven of the 1978 NBA Finals, and then earned the 1979 Finals MVP after capturing the first of three NBA titles that he won during his Hall of Fame career; one bad performance by a young player early in his career is not necessarily a reason to completely give up on him (which is not meant to suggest that I expect Holmgren to become as great a player as Johnson).
It takes nothing away from how well the Spurs played in this series--and particularly how they met the challenge after losing game five--to acknowledge that being without Jalen Williams and his replacement Ajay Mitchell (who averaged 15.1 ppg in 11 playoff games this year) proved to be too much for the Thunder to overcome. The Thunder were 2-1 with Mitchell in the Western Conference Finals and 1-3 without him; this is not just about Mitchell's numbers but about the domino effect that his absence had on the Thunder's rotation plus the extra ballhandling responsibilities that Gilgeous-Alexander had to assume with both Williams and Mitchell not available.
Injuries are part of the game, though, and attrition is a major reason why it is so difficult to win back to back titles.
The Spurs led 10-4 by the 9:11 mark of the first quarter, and were ahead 27-13 with 5:07 remaining in first quarter. We have seen some teams just quit--even on their home court--after getting hit in the mouth, but the Thunder will never be mistaken for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Thunder cut the margin to 32-25 by the end of the first quarter. The Spurs led by as much as 11 in the second quarter, but the Thunder fought back to tie the score at 49 on a Lu Dort three pointer with 2:17 remaining. Holmgren drained a pair of free throws to give the Thunder their biggest lead of the game, 53-49, before the Spurs closed the half on a 7-0 run in the final 54 seconds.
Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault tried to boost his team's sagging offense by changing his second half starting lineup, inserting Jaylin Williams and Alex Caruso in place of Isaiah Hartenstein and Lu Dort. Caruso had a very good series overall and he was the Thunder's second leading scorer (14.9 ppg) versus the Spurs, but in this game he had 12 points on 3-14 field goal shooting. The Thunder briefly led by three in the third quarter, but the Spurs were on top for the final 19:33 of the game.
Johnson's layup with 8:00 left in the fourth quarter put the Spurs up 97-86, and that play might have been the breaking point for many teams, but the Thunder answered with a Hartenstein three point play plus a Gilgeous-Alexander turnaround jumper to slash the lead to 97-91 at the 6:49 mark. Wembanyama committed his fifth foul on the Hartenstein score, and the Spurs replaced him with Luke Kornet during a timeout with 6:48 remaining. This seemed to be an opportunity for the Thunder to do some damage with Wembanyama on the bench. Hartenstein stole a pass on the Spurs' next possession and was poised to deliver a fast break dunk to put the Thunder within four points--but Kornet made perhaps the biggest play of the game, a spectacular chasedown blocked shot that the Spurs soon turned into a Castle jump shot to make the score 99-91. The Spurs led by at least six points the rest of the way.
Wembanyama, who proudly wears his emotions on his sleeve, cried after the final buzzer sounded. Good for him for showing how much winning means to him. He appears to have the right mix of confidence, team-oriented mindset, and passion for the game to be an all-time great--but that is something that must be proven with sustained excellence.
You may recall Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson claiming that "analytically" his team won two of the first three games of a series in which his squad was swept, losing by double digit margins in each game; after the fourth loss, Atkinson's main man James Harden insisted that the Cavaliers are a better team than the New York Knicks. In the wake of those delusional and self-serving remarks, it was refreshing to hear Gilgeous-Alexander's take on his team's game seven loss: "They were just the better team tonight from start to finish." A big part of being a champion is understanding how to lose, and how to learn from losses--and delusion is not part of that equation.
This was an entertaining and well played series overall, even though the last five games were each decided by double digit margins. Rivalries make sports special--some of my favorite basketball memories involve the annual showdowns between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics in the early 1980s as Julius Erving and Larry Bird battled for individual and team supremacy--so let's hope that we are fortunate enough to see a few more Spurs-Thunder playoff matchups featuring Wembanyama and Gilgeous-Alexander as the headliners. This was the first time that two top top three MVP finishers faced off in the Conference Finals since Erving and Bird squared off in 1981 and 1982.
Labels: Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Stephon Castle, Victor Wembanyama
posted by David Friedman @ 2:20 AM
4 Comments:
Many people are celebrating that Shai “free-throw merchant” Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder are eliminated because they apparently have a definite advantage in getting to the line. The Thunder had 72 FTAs in the second round while the Lakers had 86 and the Thunder had 166 FTAs compared to 187 for San Antonio.
It didn’t take any type of arduous research to look these numbers up, it took about a minute of searching on Basketball-Reference, but the consensus surrounding the Thunder is that they are frauds who only win games by flopping and it seems that there isn’t any amount of evidence in the world that will get people to even consider altering their stance on this topic.
David,
Longtime reader since 2009. I haven’t watched the regular season product the last two seasons but still check your blog posts.
Had to comment on this one because of the poised young leadership and energy of Victor and the stark contrast of the overrated Harden and analytical Cavaliers.
What a game yesterday was. You frequently mention how significant the first quarter is and it was on display last night. The Spurs just had that extra step and cohesiveness that doesn’t necessarily reflect their collective lack of experience on paper. We can see the Spurs culture and Popovich’s influence continue to be on display here.
Excited for the Finals and your preview of it. I hope we get treated to an extended series between both teams that are synchronized fully.
Michael:
The "foul merchant" narrative is one of many false narratives circulating about the NBA (and other topics).
The dream about the internet (and later about social media) is that technology would serve as a force to deliver and amplify truth, but what we have seen instead is that technology is far too often used as a tool to widely and quickly disseminate falsehood. This has profound implications that extend well beyond the NBA.
Eric:
The regular season has become increasingly less enjoyable for many reasons, including the proliferation of blatantly tanking teams. The playoffs are still fun, though perhaps not quite as much fun as they used to be--but the 2026 Western Conference Finals was a pleasant throwback to how great the NBA used to be. This was a fun series to watch.
Yes, the first quarter is much more important than many people seem to realize. The Thunder fought back from first quarter deficits throughout this series, and did so last night before falling short.
I am working on my NBA Finals preview, and expect to post it tonight or no later than tomorrow.
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