With their backs against the wall, the San Antonio Spurs have now pushed their Western Conference rivals, the Oklahoma City Thunder, to a rubber match after authoring a 118-91 blowout against the defending champions in Game 6 on Friday.
Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama bounced back from his poor Game 5 performance in major fashion, tallying a 28-point, 10-rebound double‑double, along with 5 stocks.
“The effort, it was great. Should be consistent, always the same, but it was great, the bench was great tonight, really one through fifteen,” Wembanyama said postgame.
Spurs Author Third Quarter Masterclass
Entering halftime with a slim 60-53 lead, the Spurs opened the second half surging with momentum on both sides of the floor, more than doubling OKC’s third‑quarter points to extend their lead, 32-13.
From there, San Antonio never looked back, as their continued offense and defensive pressure made sure that the Thunder never got a chance to sniff a lead in the entire game.
With the victory, the Spurs move just one win away from their first Finals appearance in 12 years, when they dismantled the Miami Heat in five games.
Dylan Harper continued to be a productive bench spark with 18 points and 6 rebounds, while Stephon Castle added 17 markers.
Thunder Pushed to Brink as SGA Struggles
For the first time since last year’s Game 7 bout against the Indiana Pacers, the Thunder will play in an elimination game.
After OKC’s crucial Game 5 blowout, all momentum seemed to have left their side, as they fell victim to a crushing defeat of their own.
No Thunder player scored more than 20 points, as reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous‑Alexander paced the team in the loss with 15 points and 4 assists, but shot a nightmarish 6-18 clip while missing all five of his attempts from deep.
Jared McCain, who has moved to the starting lineup after key players Ajay Mitchell and Jalen Williams were sidelined due to injuries, added 13 points. Meanwhile, the frontcourt duo of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein combined for 20 markers.
The Thunder as a whole shot horribly all night, finishing with just a 37% field‑goal percentage and an even worse 20% from three.
Game 7 will be on Sunday, with the winner moving on to the Finals to face the New York Knicks.
