The San Antonio Spurs have forced a decisive Game 7 on their way to the NBA Finals. Playing in front of their home crowd, the Texans dominated the Oklahoma City Thunder 118–91. The series will now be decided in Oklahoma City late Saturday night/early Sunday morning German time.
The defending champions’ 27-point loss in San Antonio was the most lopsided game of the entire series. The visitors never led at any point. The game really pulled away after halftime, when the home team won the third quarter 32-13 and subsequently built a lead of more than 25 points.
OKC star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a subpar night by his standards, scoring just 15 points. He made only six of his 18 field goal attempts but was still his team’s most dangerous player. Hartenstein, starting the game, scored ten points and grabbed five rebounds in 16 minutes on the court. Chet Holmgren recorded a double-double with ten points (4/8) and eleven rebounds (four offensive).
On the other side, Wembanyama was once again the linchpin for the Spurs. The 22-year-old Frenchman recorded 28 points, ten rebounds, and three blocks. In doing so, he fulfilled the mandate of his coach, Mitch Johnson, who had previously criticized his star player. After averaging more than 20 rebounds in the first two games of the series, Wembanyama had averaged just six rebounds in Games 3, 4, and 5.
Spurs Win Starting and Bench Minutes for the First Time
Also particularly notable: For the first time in the current semifinal series, the Spurs won the bench battle. While OKC is usually considered the deepest team in the league, the defending champions were outscored 13-32 in this regard last night.
The continued absence of guard Ajay Mitchell, who missed his third straight game due to a calf injury, certainly played a role in this. With 15.1 points per game, he was considered a key player in the team’s success during the current postseason run. Even the return of All-Star Jalen Williams couldn’t make up for it; however, he managed only one made free throw in ten minutes off the bench.
This sends the highly contested series into a decisive Game 7, which will be played early Sunday morning at 2 a.m. German time. For Oklahoma City, this is the second do-or-die game in a short span of time following last year’s NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers. The Spurs last went the full distance in 2019 against the Denver Nuggets, but have since completely overhauled their roster.
