Victor Wembanyama scored 41 points and grabbed 24 rebounds while leading the San Antonio Spurs to a 122-115 double-overtime win over the host Oklahoma City Thunder in the opener of the Western Conference finals yesterday (Philippine time).
The loss was the first of the playoffs for the Thunder, who had swept the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers to open the postseason.
Wembanyama’s back-to-the-basket alley-oop dunk from Stephon Castle with 22 seconds left put the Spurs up by six, finally giving them some measure of breathing room.
Wembanyama then blocked a shot by Jalen Williams, the big man’s third rejection of the game.
Wembanyama shot 14-of-25 from the field and 12-of-13 from the free-throw line.
With 26.3 seconds left in overtime, Wembanyama nailed a 27-foot three-pointer in transition to tie the game.
Coming out of a timeout, the Thunder dribbled the clock down before Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drove the lane, spun and found Williams for a potential game-winning three-pointer.
However, Williams’ shot missed the mark, and Dylan Harper grabbed the rebound with 0.7 seconds left.
The Spurs couldn’t convert on the ensuing inbounds play.
The teams traded blows repeatedly near the end of regulation, with Gilgeous-Alexander tying the game with 3.1 seconds left on a drive to the bucket.
The Thunder pulled Wembanyama away from the basket with Chet Holmgren in the corner, and then Gilgeous-Alexander won the one-on-one battle to the basket.
That came just after Wembanyama drove the lane on Williams, hitting a turnaround jumper to put the Spurs on top with 11.5 seconds to go.
San Antonio put it in Wembanyama’s hands again to try to win it, but Holmgren — who finished second to Wembanyama in NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting — elevated to block Wembanyama’s shot to send the game to overtime.
Harper had 24 points, 11 rebounds, seven steals and six assists.
Castle added 17 points and 11 assists but committed 11 turnovers.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points on 7-of-23 shooting, and he handed out 12 assists.
Alex Caruso led the Thunder with 31 points. Williams, playing for the first time since April 22, had 26 points. He returned from a hamstring injury.
Game 2 is on Thursday, May 21, in Oklahoma City. (Field Level Media / Reuters)