Wembanyama, Spurs send the West
finals back to Oklahoma City for Game 7, routing the Thunder 118-91
[May 29, 2026]
By RAUL DOMINGUEZ
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 28 points, 10 rebounds and
three blocks and the San Antonio Spurs sent the Western Conference
finals back to Oklahoma City for Game 7, routing the Thunder 118-91
on Thursday night.
Game 7 is Saturday night in Oklahoma City, with the winner hosting
the New York Knicks on Wednesday night to open the NBA Finals.
Wembanyama and the Spurs responded to a listless 127-114 loss in
Game 5 on Tuesday night with their most energized outing of this
see-saw series.
“(Playing with desperation) just feels like it erases kind of all
the little mistakes that we do that are human nature, whether it’s
in the regular season or previous games,” Wembanyama said. “Just got
to fight that all the time and put your backs against the wall. It
feels like it’s the best opportunity to be able to play.”
Dylan Harper had 18 points, Stephon Castle added 17 and Devin
Vassell had 12 points and two thunderous blocks for San Antonio.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was limited to a team-high 15 points on
6-for-18 shooting for defending champion Oklahoma City.
“I just think all of our focus and attention was on the defensive
end,” Castle said. “I don’t think scoring against them has been a
problem for us. I think just our self-infliced mistakes, like
turnovers and allowing them to get offensive rebounds and easy
buckets is what slows us down."
The Thunder were scoreless for eight minutes in the third as the
Spurs ran off 22 straight points to make it 92-64 with 56 seconds
left in the quarter.
“I don’t know that it was necessarily anything we did wrong,”
Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. “I thought we were ready
to play. I felt confident going into the game, and I felt confident
at halftime. It had the makings of a road win if we could be the
team that threw the punch in the third and they were the team that
did that.”
The average margin of victory has been 15.3 points, with the Spurs
winning by an average of 18.3 points.
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Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) reacts to a blocked
shot against the San Antonio Spurs in the second half of Game 6 in
the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series,
Thursday, May 28, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Wembanyama has been at the forefront of all three
victories.
The 7-foot-4 star joined Hall of Famers David Robinson and Tim
Duncan as the only players in franchise history with five games of
25 points and 10 rebounds in a single postseason.
Wembanyama made his first two shots — both 3-pointers — and blocked
Gilgeous-Alexander’s layup in the first 1:27 as San Antonio took a
9-2 lead.
“I think we were consistent and we did what we needed to do,”
Wembanyama said. “Trusted the game, trusted the basketball gods.”
Wembanyama had 11 points, five rebounds an assist and a block in the
opening quarter.
The series remained physical and contentious, with the Thunder's
Chet Holmgren jawing with and bumping into Vassell after the Spurs'
wing blocked the 7-footer’s dunk attempt in the second quarter.
Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams returned after reinjuring his
hamstring in Game 2 and missing the next three games. Williams was
limited to one point on 0-for-1 shooting in 10 minutes.
Holmgren had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
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