Victor Wembanyama scored 41 points and grabbed 24 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs closed a wild Game 1 of the Western Conference finals with a 122-115 double-overtime road victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
San Antonio survived the absence of De’Aaron Fox (right ankle soreness) and Stephon Castle’s Spurs franchise playoff-record 11 turnovers. Castle also added 17 points, six rebounds and 11 assists. San Antonio finished with 23 turnovers, which the Thunder converted into 28 points.
Wembanyama made 14 of 25 shots and 12 of 13 free throws, and he added three assists and three blocked shots for the Spurs — all while playing 49 minutes.
Alex Caruso led the Thunder in scoring with a playoff career-high 31 points, hitting 8 of 14 3-pointers off the bench. Jalen Williams, playing for the first time since Game 2 of the first round against the Phoenix Suns, scored 26 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points on 7-for-23 shooting.
Here are some takeaways with Game 2 set for Wednesday in Oklahoma City.
Wemby makes a statement when it counts
Wembanyama had to take the court after Gilgeous-Alexander won the MVP he wanted, and he made a bold declaration that he belongs in the conversation as the greatest player in basketball.
There is a long series ahead of us, but Wembanyama can puff his chest out proudly. He unequivocally made his case, dominating this game on both ends. He became the seventh player ever to have a 40-point, 20-rebound game in the conference finals or later, per Stathead, and he did it in a career-high 49 minutes. He pushed himself beyond any limits he has ever tested before and dominated.
The Spurs had a great game plan that they executed well for most of the night. In the first half, they let Wembanyama play zone and dared the Thunder’s weak links to make 3s. Caruso had one of the greatest games of his career, but everyone else flopped. The Thunder played better in the second half, and Gilgeous-Alexander was able to finally find his way to the rim, even when Wembanyama was doubling him. But the Spurs’ playmaking to find shooters worked so well, and their guards Castle and Dylan Harper stepped up well in Fox’s absence.
Their crunchtime offense had some major vulnerabilities, but Wembanyama broke loose in the end and made some epic plays to win Game 1. It should be a long series, but Wembanyama showed that it’s gonna be his to rule. — Jared Weiss, Spurs writer
Caruso outstanding despite the loss
Caruso achieved basketball nirvana in Game 1 — and, seemingly, for nothing.
Two overtimes, 31 points, 32 minutes and countless winning plays in a loss. The Spurs challenged him to hit 3s; he obliged, making 8 of 14 attempts. He leveled Wembanyama better than anyone once the fourth quarter began. For a 7-foot-4 towering threat who comes without answers, Caruso conjured some.
But there were far too many times when Caruso was lonely in his representation of Oklahoma City as the league’s most physical team. San Antonio generally didn’t budge. Caruso pricked and pushed, but he often stood alone as a button pusher and disruptor.
He did his job. The Thunder wasted one of the great role player performances in recent memory. — Joel Lorenzi, Thunder writer
Harper makes huge plays in playoff start
Rookies don’t get put in positions like this, tapped to step in and step up during the Western Conference finals. But Dylan Harper doesn’t really seem like a rookie.
Making the first playoff start of his career because of Fox’s sore right ankle, Harper didn’t look fazed by the moment. On one of his team’s most important possessions, the ball found its way into Harper’s hands. He bobbled it. He slipped. The Thunder slapped and grabbed. But Harper managed to keep just enough of his hands on the ball before drawing a foul.
His two free throws put the Spurs up 99-97 in the fourth quarter, huge points in a game where the margins were so slim. His driving bucket past Alex Caruso and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in overtime might’ve been even bigger. He had six steals, and just one turnover.
If the Spurs are without Fox moving forward, they have to feel confident about the 20-year-old ready for the challenge. — Dan Woike, senior writer
An all-time great in OKC?
Was this the best game I have ever seen in person? I am cataloging some of the best in my brain, and this one definitely makes the short list.
From a seemingly out-of-gas Wembanyama suddenly nailing a 30-foot 3 to tie the game and then dominating the second overtime, to Gilgeous-Alexander getting unstuck in the fourth quarter to make one clutch shot after another to rally the Thunder from 11 down, to an all-time role player performance from Caruso, to Harper, as a rookie, announcing himself on a national stage in the absence of Fox, to all the adjustments by both sides that the talent of these two teams necessitated … Game 1 of the Western Conference finals was an almost religious experience.
When the arena blasted “Please Don’t Stop the Music” at the end of regulation, it seemed like they were speaking for basketball fans across the globe: Please don’t stop the game or this series, because this is basketball nirvana.
We should be so lucky as to get six more games of this, regardless of which side ends up prevailing. — John Hollinger, senior writer