Victor Wembanyama leads the way for Spurs as they keep their season alive on Thursday and force Game 7.
The two best records in the NBA.
The two top seeds in the West.
The two rivals who have forged a West Finals classic.
…now headed for the best two words in sports:
Game Seven.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
See You Saturday: Facing elimination, Wemby sparks Spurs to force Game 7 in OKC
Statement Surge: Inside the plays that fueled San Antonio’s 20-0 3rd-quarter run
Game 7 First Look: A historic winner-take-all to cap an all-time West Finals
Knicks Await: A deep dive into the benefits (and challenges) of Playoff rest
Where’s Larry?: The Larry O’Brien Trophy has been busy before the NBA Finals
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Tied 3-3, the Western Conference Finals come down to one final showdown – Game 7 on Saturday in OKC (8 ET, NBC/Peacock). Will the Thunder return to the NBA Finals, or will the Spurs knock off the reigning champs?
Awaiting The Winner: the New York Knicks, with Game 1 of the NBA Finals set for Wednesday, June 3 (8:30 ET, ABC).
New Draft Lottery Approved: The NBA Board of Governors approved a new NBA Draft Lottery system Thursday. The ‘3-2-1 Lottery’ takes effect beginning with the 2027 Draft.
1. WEMBY, SPURS STORM PAST THUNDER TO FORCE GAME 7
Their backs were against the wall, and the defending champs were closing in.
The Thunder stood one win away from a return trip to the NBA Finals. The Spurs stood one loss away from watching their magical season end at home.
San Antonio wouldn’t let it happen. This series – one that’s delivered again and again – wasn’t ending in six games.
Instead, Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs pushed this West Finals classic to its final act.
Game 7.
Spurs 118, Thunder 91: With San Antonio’s season on the line, Wembanyama (28 pts, 10 reb, 2 stl, 3 blk) came out firing, as the hosts seized control with a 35-22 1st quarter.
The Spurs broke things open in the 3rd with an electric 20-0 run, racing past Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (15 pts, 4 ast) and the Thunder to force a winner-take-all Game 7 in OKC on Saturday (8 ET, NBC/Peacock). | Recap
Alien Answer: After Wemby was held to 20 points in San Antonio’s Game 5 loss, coach Mitch Johnson made it clear: if the Spurs were going to survive, they needed more from their superstar.
- “We’re gonna have to [get Victor going],” Johnson said. “He’s going to need to take more than 15 shots. He’s going to need to score more than 20 points.”
Wembanyama delivered. And then some.
Hours before tip-off, he arrived at the arena in a green robe with a freshly shaved head – a different look for his first career elimination game.
Moments after tip-off, he attacked OKC with a different energy.
- Welcome: Wemby waited 8+ minutes to take his first shot in Game 5. Last night? Fifty-seven seconds, as he splashed an early 3 to ignite the Frost Bank Center
- To The Wemby Show: Sixteen seconds later, he swatted a shot off the glass. Then drilled another 3. Then a turnaround jumper
- The Building Was Rocking: And the Spurs kept coming. Wemby buried another 3 late in the quarter as San Antonio closed on a 21-9 surge, capped by a crowd-popping bucket from Stephon Castle (17 pts, 5 reb, 9 ast) with 0.5 left
- The Spurs Were Rolling: San Antonio was up 13 with an 8-of-14 clip from deep – its most 3s in a Playoff quarter since play-by-play data was first tracked in 1997-98
- “We all had a bad taste in our mouth after last game,” said Dylan Harper (18 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast) of Wemby and San Antonio’s start
- “When he came with that outfit, I think everyone knew what was going to happen.”
By halftime, Wemby (22 pts, 6 reb, 4 3s) already had more points than he scored in all of Game 5. The Spurs led 60-53.
Then came the knockout blow.
- Turning Point: With 8:23 left in the 3rd, an SGA jumper trimmed OKC’s deficit to eight. The Thunder wouldn’t score for another 7:27 of game time
- Turning Up: San Antonio, meanwhile, erupted from all angles: six points from Harper, five from De’Aaron Fox, five from Castle and two apiece from Julian Champagnie and Wemby
- A 20-0 Tidal Wave: Suddenly, the Spurs were up 28 – and the Frost Bank Center was in a frenzy
Complete Effort: Devin Vassell (12 pts, 4 3s, 2 blk, endless juice) and Champagnie (10 pts, 6 reb, 2 blk) joined Wemby, Harper and Castle in double figures, as the Spurs finished with 12 different scorers.
A must-win game ended with a wire-to-wire victory – and “Game 7” chants raining down.
And the storm started with their superstar.
- “His desire to meet the moment,” said Johnson on the key to Wemby’s performance. “I think that’s maybe his biggest growth this year. Not waiting for it to be perfect … but to attack the moment … and live with the results.”
Game 7 on Saturday now awaits, with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line (8 ET, NBC/Peacock).
2. “GET IT DONE NOW”: INSIDE THE SPURS’ STATEMENT 3RD QUARTER
A pair of early runs put the Spurs in control of Game 6 before halftime.
But it was San Antonio’s 32-13 3rd quarter, starring a 20-0 run, that closed the door on OKC.
The offensive surge was made possible by a defensive shutoff, and here’s what it looked like, in five key, energy-shifting plays.
Cutoff Zone: After OKC started the quarter with four straight scores in the paint, San Antonio dropped into a zone, throwing a different look at OKC — and setting up the run to come.
- “It had the makings of a road win if we could be the team that threw the punch in the 3rd, and they were the team that did that, which is why they won the game,” coach Mark Daigneault said
Creating Cracks: Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper worked a quick pass-pass back to get the defense moving, making a lane for Castle to drive and convert the and-1. San Antonio’s lead climbed past 10 points on this score (76-64) and never came back down. Run: 4-0
- “We all just stuck together and just kind of rode the wave that we were on,” Harper said. “We were being aggressive, and being the aggressor no matter what.”
Turned Away: The Spurs’ zone locks up four Thunder drives here, mid-way through the 3rd, forcing four straight passes away from the basket. Castle then gets the deflection and rip on Shai, one of four OKC turnovers in the frame. Run: 7-0
- “All of our focus and attention was on the defensive end,” Castle said of the quarter. “We knew our backs were against the walls, and if we punched them in the mouth first that they were gonna lay down.”
More Movement: Back on offense, San Antonio swings it for a De’Aaron Fox baseline drive while Victor Wembanyama crashes, leaving Julian Champagnie alone on a kickout to drive the scattered paint. Run: 13-0
- “We kinda felt the tide turn, so we knew … we could play around with the game and let them stay in the game, or finish them off,” Champagnie said of the 3rd quarter.
- “That was kind of the biggest thing for us … get it done now, and get right to the next one.”
Punctuated: After Chet Holmgren’s lay-in ended OKC’s 7-plus minute scoring drought, Wemby’s block at the buzzer sealed San Antonio’s statement quarter, with the lead expanded to 28.
- “Outscoring them 20-2 is not a realistic projection that we want to do,” Wemby said postgame. “But when we get everything together, these moments are gonna happen …
“The key is to stay consistent.”
3. GAME 7 FIRST LOOK: A FITTING FINALE FOR AN EPIC WEST FINALS
A rivalry that spent months brewing has erupted into a West Finals classic — and now it’s headed for the ultimate crescendo: Game 7 (Saturday, 8 ET, NBC/Peacock).
Winner advances to the NBA Finals.
And like this series, this one is special.
- All-Time Playoffs: This will be the 160th Game 7 in NBA history and the 5th of these Playoffs – tied for the most in a single postseason
- All-Time Showdown: Since the Playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1983, this is the first Game 7 between teams with the top two regular-season records
- “Legendary,” said Dylan Harper of what it means to play in a Game 7. “We want to be a part of that history … we’re going to go out there swinging. No matter what – we’re gonna leave it all on the table.”
This will be the first Game 7 in the West Finals since the Warriors beat the Rockets in 2018. No team has reached consecutive NBA Finals since Golden State’s run from 2015-19.
A Thunder win Saturday would change that.
A Spurs win would mark their first Game 7 victory since the First Round of 2014 – the same year San Antonio last reached, and won, the NBA Finals.
At the center of this relentless series stand two superstars: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama.
And while the back-to-back Kia MVP has more Game 7 experience, San Antonio’s 22-year-old sensation has spent this postseason proving pressure brings out his best.
- SGA Delivery: Shai is 2-1 in career Game 7s, averaging 27.7 ppg, including a monster outing (29 pts, 5 reb, 12 ast, 2 blk) in Game 7 of last year’s NBA Finals to bring a title to OKC
- Alien Arrival: Wemby has totaled 372 pts, 176 reb and 59 blk this postseason. Only two other players have tallied at least 350/150/50 in their first 16 career Playoff games: David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon
- Elimination Elevation: Last night, he became the first Spur in franchise history to post 25+ pts and 10+ reb with multiple steals and multiple blocks when facing elimination
And after a 1-1 split through two games, a 2-2 deadlock through four and a 3-3 tie through six, it feels only fitting this series – and superstar duel – comes down to one final game.
One final game for a Finals berth.
- “Anything can happen in a Game 7,” said SGA postgame. “It’s win or go home. We gotta go out there and be better … if we’re not better, our season will be over.”
- “Forty-eight minutes away from the Finals, man,” said Stephon Castle. “Something we’ve been dreaming about since we were little kids.”
4. YAHOO SPORTS: BALANCING ‘REST VS. RUST’
The Knicks have been here before.
The team had eight days of rest before Game 1 of the East Finals, a game they trailed until a historic 22-point comeback late.
“I think you could say … we were still resting in the first three quarters,’”Jalen Brunson said then. “But, the rest helped us, definitely, in the 4th and overtime.”
New York went on to win the series in four games. So is the extra rest before the Finals helpful, or a hindrance?
Rest assured, there is a sweet spot, historically.
Yahoo Sports’ Ben Rohrbach breaks down all the statistics on Playoff rest:
“… For fans of the New York Knicks, who will have eight days of rest entering the 2026 NBA Finals, there is some reason to believe the additional time off could benefit them…
‘We really wanna get back to work,’ New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns told reporters this week.
“… The team with more rest entering the NBA Finals is 7-3 … But teams with five or more days rest than the opponents entering the Finals are just 3-3 since 2000 …” | Read More
5. WHERE IN THE WORLD IS LARRY? ADVENTURES BEFORE THE FINALS
The NBA Finals tip off on June 3, but the Larry O’Brien Trophy is already making the rounds.
From the PGA Championship to the set of Bravo TV, Larry has spent the past few weeks making stops across the sports and entertainment world, reminding everyone what’s at stake this June.
- Courtside Reimagined: Larry made a stop at Cosm Los Angeles on Tuesday, taking in the immersive viewing experience during Game 5 of the West Finals
- Major Hardware: Larry hit the links earlier this month in Philly, joining the Stanley Cup and Wanamaker Trophy at Aronimink Golf Club for the PGA Championship
- Reminiscing On Prime: Even as a 3-time NBA champion, Udonis Haslem was awed by Larry’s aura, along with the rest of the NBA on Prime crew
- Larry Trivia: “Enjoy Basketball” put their hardware knowledge to the test, guessing how much Larry weighs
- On The Mic: On Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live,” Andy Cohen asked Larry the hard-hitting questions – and Larry wasn’t having it 😂
Follow for more Larry adventures here.
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