{"id":1964453,"date":"2026-05-31T02:58:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T23:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1964453"},"modified":"2026-05-31T02:58:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T23:58:35","slug":"spurs-outduel-thunder-for-epic-game-7-win-advance-to-nba-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1964453","title":{"rendered":"Spurs outduel Thunder for epic Game 7 win, advance to NBA Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The defending champs have been dethroned.<\/p>\n

Facing a hostile crowd in Oklahoma City, the San Antonio Spurs showed no sign of nerves, using a balanced attack, excellent 3-point shooting and a stingy defense to pull out a 111-103 victory in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals Saturday night.<\/p>\n

The Spurs now advance to the NBA Finals for a chance to win their sixth NBA championship \u2014 and the first since 2014. They\u2019ll have to get past the New York Knicks to do so, with Game 1 set for Wednesday in San Antonio.<\/p>\n

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Victor Wembanyama, named the Western Conference finals MVP, had 22 points and seven rebounds, but the Spurs received contributions up and down their roster. De\u2019Aaron Fox had perhaps his best game of the series, consistently hitting big shots to stop Thunder runs. He finished with 15 points, five assists and three steals.<\/p>\n

Julian Champagnie scored 20 points and added six rebounds. Luke Kornet sparked a crucial four-point turnaround late in the game with a chasedown block of Oklahoma City\u2019s Isaiah Hartenstein. Keldon Johnson hit a pair of huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and finished with 11 points.<\/p>\n

OKC\u2019s two-time reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 35 points and also had nine assists, but it wasn\u2019t enough to counter the varied Spurs attack.<\/p>\n

Here are the takeaways from Saturday night\u2019s Game 7.<\/p>\n

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Unsung heroes of San Antonio<\/h2>\n

What do you do when Wembanyama gets his fifth foul and the whole season is on the line?<\/p>\n

You become Wemby.<\/p>\n

Luke Kornet checked in for just two defensive possessions, looking like a Wemby on both of them. When Wembanyama came back in, Julian Champagnie missed him standing all alone under the hoop. Then, Dylan Harper came flying in for the putback, just like Wemby would.<\/p>\n

Every time the Thunder threatened to come back, the Spurs found someone to go above and beyond their role to make a huge play. Fox\u2019s ankle has rendered him a shell of himself all series, then he comes out and has the most important game of his career.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the beauty of this Spurs team: They are loaded with versatility and determination. Now they are heading to the NBA Finals, with a series comeback for the ages. \u2014 Jared Weiss, Spurs writer<\/em><\/p>\n

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What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
\n \"Knicks-Spurs<\/p>\n
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\n Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals mega-preview: Predictions, odds, must-reads and more\n <\/div>\n
\n Here is everything you need to know about this 1999 finals rematch between the NBA’s largest market and its fifth-smallest.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

OKC runs into an opponent with answers<\/h2>\n

When Oklahoma City had the upper hand in the West finals, it was still the team that could conjure more responses.\u00a0It needed players that could hurtle toward Wembanyama without fear, and it summoned the quick trigger of Jared McCain. It needed defensive poise and disruption, and it found more from Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace.<\/p>\n

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It needed depth to supplement a forgettable series from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and in moments, it did.<\/p>\n

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But San Antonio had the answers down the stretch of this seven-game series. It got an abundance of transition 3s and flourished from the corners during its hot starts. Luke Kornet\u2019s minutes behind Wembanyama no longer felt like such a detriment. Its turnovers dwindled, with better control from its vaunted backcourt. Wembanyama more frequently channeled a version of him that could be considered the best player in the world.<\/p>\n

The Spurs had all the responses necessary. As a result, their timeline as a juggernaut begins now. \u2014 Joel Lorenzi, Thunder writer<\/em><\/p>\n

Spurs showed poise, grit on the road<\/h2>\n

The general belief in the NBA is that the team that hits first is usually the one who wins \u2014 a saying that\u2019s more metaphorical than it is literal. It speaks of force, of intent, of aggression.<\/p>\n

In Game 7, the Spurs hit first in the most Thunder way possible. Victor Wembanyama drove to the corner, extended his arm, created space and hit a midrange jumper.<\/p>\n

Saturday night, the Spurs were more Thunder than the defending champs. They were more aggressive getting to their spots. They better used their physicality.\u00a0And, in the most surprising twist, they were more poised, handling every crowd chat, every Thunder run with maturity that they shouldn\u2019t possess.<\/p>\n

They did it from the start. They hit first. And the Thunder never really caught up. \u2014 Dan Woike, NBA writer<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The defending champs have been dethroned. Facing a hostile crowd in Oklahoma City, the San Antonio Spurs showed no sign of nerves, using a balanced attack, excellent 3-point shooting and a stingy defense to pull out a 111-103 victory in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals Saturday night. The Spurs now advance to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1964453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1964453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1964453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1964453\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1964453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1964453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1964453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}