The Western Conference finals will go to a seventh game after the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-91 Thursday night at Frost Bank Center.
Rebounding from their 13-point loss in Tuesday’s Game 5, the Spurs never trailed in Game 6, tying the series 3-3. Game 7 is Saturday night in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder were within seven points at halftime, but the Spurs outscored them 32-13 in the third quarter.
After a subpar Game 5 performance, Victor Wembanyama was closer to his normal self, scoring 28 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. After shooting 4-for-15 on Tuesday, he was 10-for-21 (including 4-for-9 on 3-pointers) on Thursday.
Dylan Harper made 6 of 9 shots from the field and scored 18 points for the Spurs. Stephon Castle logged 17 points and nine assists. Thursday’s win was the Spurs’ second by at least 20 points in this series, the other a 103-82 decision in Game 4.
Two-time NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (15 points) shot 6-for-18 from the field, typifying the Thunder’s 37 percent shooting. The only game this postseason in which the Thunder have shot worse was Game 4 on Sunday, when they made 33 percent.
Here are some takeaways from Game 6:
Defense and confidence power Spurs
Wembanyama showed once again that he can answer for a bad game with a dominant one. Instead of forcing his way into the paint, he finally shot the ball with confidence and made it rain.
When he saw those early shots go down, his defensive presence, as well as the rest of the team’s, hit a level it didn’t show in Game 5.
But the Spurs’ biggest vulnerability in this series has been what happens when Wembanyama hits the bench. That was when the team really turned up the defensive intensity on Thursday, dialing up a variety of coverages on Gilgeous-Alexander that kept the Thunder from going on any runs with Wemby out. Then, Dylan Harper finally found the bounce in his step once again, as he had his first big game since he suffered an adductor injury in Game 2.
The Spurs’ defense was incredibly connected, aggressively rotating on and off SGA doubles and managing not to get exposed on the back end. They flew out to shooters without overrunning the closeouts, making it hard for the Thunder to get any advantages. They ran well on the break off misses, putting together a textbook Spurs performance. Thursday was San Antonio at its best. — Jared Weiss, Spurs writer
A 3rd quarter to forget for OKC
For 24 minutes, Wembanyama was unleashed; Devin Vassell looked like Ray Allen in his Boston days and Dylan Harper couldn’t miss. And yet, OKC remained in range.
It was the Thunder’s putrid third quarter that will haunt them all the way to Game 7.
They scored a mere 13 points in 12 minutes. They forfeited a 27-6 run, unfathomable for an all-time defense. Gilgeous-Alexander, smothered and bothered, was a minus-13 in the period. Jalen Williams, who returned from a left hamstring injury Thursday night, was a minus-6 in three third-quarter minutes. During Luke Kornet’s four minutes in the third, the Thunder were outscored by 11. This was a recipe for disaster.
The most painful part of the quarter-long dry spell was that Oklahoma City seemed to have all the answers during San Antonio’s explosive first half. They somehow ran out when the Spurs grew less efficient.
Their fourth quarter was spent listening to “Spurs in seven” chants. — Joel Lorenzi, Thunder writer
Productive game off the bench for Harper
Dylan Harper was sensational in the Spurs’ Game 1 win over the Thunder, going for 24 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. In the four games after that, the 20-year-old guard was relatively quiet. He scored 12, six, seven and five points in Games 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively.
On Thursday, he looked more like a surefire future All-Star than a tentative rookie. Harper, the No. 2 pick in last year’s NBA Draft, scored 18 points (6 of 9 from the field), grabbed six rebounds and dished four assists in 22 minutes off the bench.
Harper played his smooth, under-control style in San Antonio’s dominant wire-to-wire win. He made two early 3s, got to the rim with ease and mixed in some midrange jumpers.
If Harper can play like this again in Game 7, the Spurs could punch their ticket to the NBA Finals. — Christian Clark, NBA writer
Wemby delivered at most opportune time
Give Wembanyama credit for this much: After choosing to stay silent after his lackluster outing in Game 5, and inviting two days of scrutiny in the process heading into Game 6, he responded by delivering one of the loudest performances of his young career.
Had he laid another egg, with the Spurs’ season ending in the process, the 22-year-old would have faced months of criticism about how he lost the series and his composure in the final chapter of an otherwise-special season.
Instead, with Wembanyama setting the tone with his Ray Allen impersonation early and maintaining force on both ends throughout, these young Spurs found themselves on the brink of what would be a landscape-changing upset. — Sam Amick, NBA national writer