The San Antonio Spurs marched into the Paycom Center and stripped the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder of their home-court advantage, grinding out a 122-115 double-overtime victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals early Tuesday morning. The heavyweight clash between the league’s top young cores immediately delivered on its promise, halting the Thunder’s undefeated playoff run and sending a clear warning to the rest of the league.
Victor Wembanyama completely dominated the paint for San Antonio, recording an absurd 41 points, 24 rebounds, three blocks, and three assists over 49 minutes of action. His performance dictated the flow of the entire game, defying the official pre-game team stats that positioned the defending champions as heavy favorites. The historic effort pushes the Spurs closer to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2014, marking a triumphant return in their first Western Conference Finals trip since 2017.
While Wembanyama anchored the floor, rookie Dylan Harper emerged as the unexpected spark for San Antonio. Harper disrupted the Thunder’s rhythm constantly, securing a double-double with 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and seven steals. Stephon Castle also fed the offense beautifully with 17 points and 11 assists to keep the Spurs afloat during the grueling extra periods.
Oklahoma City leaned heavily on veteran Alex Caruso, who surprisingly led the team in scoring with 31 points and drilled eight three-pointers to keep the defending champions alive. Newly crowned back-to-back NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up 24 points, 12 assists, and five steals while logging a punishing 51 minutes. But Gilgeous-Alexander struggled with his shooting efficiency against the Spurs’ length and committed four costly turnovers in crucial moments, as tracked by the live coverage and boxscore tracking broadcast.
The Spurs’ interior defense completely neutralized Thunder center Chet Holmgren, holding him to just eight points and eight rebounds before the final buzzer sounded. The double-overtime 122-115 finish extends San Antonio’s season dominance over Oklahoma City, as the Spurs previously won four of their five regular-season meetings against the reigning champions.