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For the first time since 2018, the Western Conference Finals are going to Game 7. The Spurs needed to win at home in Game 6 on Thursday to keep their season alive, and they never trailed en route to a 118-91 victory. On Saturday, the reigning champion Thunder and the Spurs will compete to see which team advances to face the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals.
Victor Wembanyama, who struggled in Game 5, hit two 3-pointers in the opening 90 seconds, and the Spurs built a quick double-digit lead. They pushed their advantage up to 15 in the second quarter, and it seemed like they would run away early. The Thunder had a response, however, and cut the deficit to five early in the third quarter.
From there, however, it was all Spurs. They held the Thunder scoreless for more than seven minutes late in the third and went on a 20-0 run to break the game open. The Spurs led by 26 after the first three frames.
Wembanyama finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, Dylan Harper scored 18 points off the bench and Stephon Castle added 17 points, five rebounds and nine assists. The Spurs also knocked down 15 3s and turned the ball over just 12 times. Defensively, they held the Thunder to 36.8% shooting and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 15 points on 6 of 18 from the field.
Here are some key takeaways from the Spurs' season-saving victory:
Wembanyama steps up
Victor Wembanyama's unique size and athleticism mean he's rarely flat-out bad. Even when his shot isn't falling, he can usually find a way to impact the game. But in Game 5, with the Western Conference Finals tied 2-2, Wembanyama was bad. He shot 4 of 15 from the field, only grabbed six rebounds and was generally not impactful in a winnable game. To make matters worse, he left without talking to the media and did not have to answer questions about his performance (or a moment late in the game when he whispered into two teammates' ears before they issued hard fouls on Thunder guard Jared McCain).
With the season on the line Thursday in Game 6, Wembanyama needed to step up. He did so immediately. In the first 90 seconds, Wembanyama knocked down two 3-pointers and blocked a shot to give the Spurs an early lead they would never surrender.
This wasn't the best game Wembanyama has ever played, or even his best in this series, but he made a big impact on both ends of the floor and finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks in 28 minutes to lead the Spurs to victory and force a Game 7 back in Oklahoma City on Saturday.
Harper returns to his pre-injury form
In the first two rounds of the playoffs, Dylan Harper averaged 13.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals off the bench on 56.6/37.5/85.7 shooting splits. In the Spurs' thrilling overtime victory in Game 1 of this series, he put up 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and seven steals in 47 minutes.
To that point, Harper was putting together one of the best postseason runs we've seen from a rookie. Then, in the middle of Game 2, Harper tweaked his hamstring and had to exit that contest early. Though he didn't miss any time, he did not look like himself over the next few games. Over Games 3-5, Harper averaged just six points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 31.3% shooting, and the Spurs lost two of those games by double digits.
In Game 6, though, Harper was back to his pre-injury self. He had a huge first half to help the Spurs build an early lead, and finished with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists on 6 of 9 from the field. The Spurs are a different team when Harper plays like he did on Thursday, and they'll need more of the same to win Game 7 on the road.
San Antonio defense dominates third quarter
With Wembanyama leading the way, the Spurs have been one of the best defensive teams in the league all season long, but they've been a bit inconsistent on that side of the ball in this series. They were on their game Thursday, though, particularly in the third quarter.
With 8:23 remaining in the third, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a jumper to cut the deficit to eight. Over the next seven minutes and 27 seconds, the Thunder did not score a single point, as the Spurs went on a 20-0 run that effectively ended the game. During that stretch, the Thunder missed 14 consecutive shots and turned the ball over three times. For the frame, the Thunder managed just 13 points on 6 of 28 from the field.
Overall, the Thunder's 91 points were their second-fewest this postseason, and they also recorded their second-lowest field goal percentage (37.2%). While they only turned the ball over 12 times, they shot just 12 of 26 at the rim, 19 of 42 in the paint and 10 of 40 from 3-point range. Gilgeous-Alexander, who has quietly had a tough series, finished with 15 points on 6 of 18 from the field.
Spurs find their range
The Spurs are not an elite 3-point shooting team. They were tied for 13th in the league in attempts per game in the regular season (37.9) and tied for 14th in percentage (35.9). Through the first two rounds of the playoffs, their attempts were down significantly (32.5), but their efficiency was up (38.4%).
Against the Thunder's stout defense, though, they've been unable to get into the paint as much as they'd like, and have had to settle for dozens of 3s. Through the first five games of this series, they had taken at least 40 3s four times -- something they didn't do once in the first two rounds -- and were shooting an ice-cold 63 of 198 (31.8%). Ironically, their best shooting performance came in a Game 2 loss.
The tide finally turned in Game 6, as the Spurs shot 15 of 41 (36.6%) and outscored the Thunder by 15 from behind the arc en route to a 28-point win. That final number is also a bit deceiving because they missed 10 of their last 12, and were 2 of 8 in the fourth quarter, which was entirely garbage time.
Six different Spurs made a 3: Victor Wembanyama (four), Devin Vassell (four), Julian Champagnie (two), Dylan Harper (two), Harrison Barnes (two) and Kelson Johnson (one).
