05/19/26 03:30:00
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05/19 15:28 CDT Wembanyama has 41 points, 24 rebounds and Spurs top Thunder
122-115 in 2OT to open West finals
Wembanyama has 41 points, 24 rebounds and Spurs top Thunder 122-115 in 2OT to
open West finals
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) --- Victor Wembanyama had 41 points and 24 rebounds, Dylan
Harper finished with 24 points and a team playoff-record seven steals, and the
San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-115 in a double-overtime
classic to open the Western Conference finals Monday night.
Wembanyama sealed it with a pair of dunks in the final minute, one of them
leading to a three-point play as the Spurs stole home-court advantage and beat
the Thunder for the fifth time in six meetings this season.
Stephon Castle had 17 points, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson each scored 13
and Julian Champagnie added 11 for the Spurs, who were without De'Aaron Fox
because of ankle stiffness.
"A great effort --- from everybody," said Wembanyama, who, at 22 years, 134
days, became the youngest player with at least 41 points and 24 rebounds in a
playoff game. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was 22 years, 352 days when he had a
46-point, 25-rebound game in the 1970 playoffs.
Alex Caruso scored 31 points, the second-highest scoring game of his career,
off the bench for the Thunder --- whose nine-game playoff winning streak dating
to Game 7 of last season's Finals was snapped.
Jalen Williams returned from a six-game absence caused by a hamstring strain
and scored 26 points for the Thunder, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander --- on the
night he got his second straight Most Valuable Player trophy --- had 24 points
and 12 assists but shot 7 for 23.
It was the sixth Game 1 in NBA playoff history to go into double overtime ---
the first since a Spurs-Warriors game in 2013.
And as the clock ticked toward midnight, Wembanyama decided enough was enough.
Game 2 is Wednesday at Oklahoma City.
"It was a war of wills," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "The levels of mental
toughness exuded by both teams ... we needed every second from everybody that
played."
The Spurs were up by 10 with 9:10 left in regulation, wasted it all, then
survived a frantic final stretch where the lead changed hands twice and the
game was tied three times in a span of less than two minutes.
Wembanyama had an off-balance chance to win it on the last play of regulation,
but Chet Holmgren swatted it away. In overtime, Wembanyama more than atoned ---
connecting on a tying 3-pointer from well behind the arc with 28 seconds left
to tie the game and help send it to a second OT. On Tuesday, the NBA's official
tracking data said it was just over 32 feet, so more than 8 feet back of the
3-point line.
"We have to get better from this game," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
Gilgeous-Alexander had his worst first half, shooting-wise, in nearly three
years --- 1 for 5 from the field, four points. It was the first time since Oct.
29, 2023, a span of 270 appearances including playoffs, that he didn't have at
least two field goals before halftime.
Meanwhile, Wembanyama was doing whatever he wanted --- dunking over trios of
defenders, flexing at times, finishing the half with 14 points and 10 rebounds,
looking perfectly comfortable in his debut on this stage.
And the Spurs' lead was only seven at the break, 51-44.
Gilgeous-Alexander got a couple shots to fall in the third, and the Thunder
even briefly reclaimed the lead. But the Spurs were unfazed and the margin was
still seven. San Antonio was ahead 80-73 going into the fourth.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
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