The Spurs win a heavyweight battle in Game 7, taking down the No. 1 seeded Thunder to advance to the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Download the NBA App<\/a><\/p>\n OKLAHOMA CITY \u2013 Youth and playoff inexperience in a conference finals Game 7 on the road against the defending champions\u00a0were not\u00a0detriments for the San Antonio Spurs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nope, not at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n It helps to have a unique 7-foot-4 forward-center by the name of Victor Wembanyama. It helps to have players such as Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Keldon Johnson, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle who shunned convention and soared. It helps to have a young coach in Mitch Johnson who pulled this together quicker than anticipated.\u00a0<\/p>\n Playing more like veterans who have been through this before, the young Spurs \u2013 a majority of their key players are 25 years old and younger \u2013 advanced to the NBA Finals<\/a> with a\u00a0111-103\u00a0victory<\/a> against the Oklahoma City Thunder Saturday in Game 7 of a grueling, make-each-possession-count Western Conference Finals.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe players did what they\u2019ve been doing all\u00a0year,\u00a0and they met the biggest moment that\u2019s been in front of them up to this point and there\u2019s some pretty cool memories I\u2019ll take away from that,\u201d Johnson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Spurs have arrived and will play the New York Knicks in the Finals,\u00a0rekindling\u00a0memories of the 1999 Finals between the franchises.\u00a0<\/p>\n After six consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs, the Spurs are back in the Finals for the first time since 2014 \u2013 and in the Finals for the first time without Gregg Popovich as coach and the first time without Tim Duncan on the roster.\u00a0<\/p>\n San Antonio\u2019s victory ensures the NBA will have a different champion for the eighth consecutive year, the longest streak in league\u00a0history.\u00a0<\/p>\n Game 1 of the NBA Finals is Wednesday in San Antonio (8:30 ET, ABC<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n 1. Wembanyama propels Spurs to NBA Finals\u00a0<\/p>\n Wembanyama, 22, had his games where he dominated and had his games where he struggled in this series. However, when the\u00a0Spurs\u00a0absolutely needed him, he delivered, whether that was 41 points and 24 rebounds in Game 1 or 22 points and seven rebounds in Game 7.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n He earned the Earvin \u201cMagic\u201d Johnson Trophy as the MVP of the Western Conference Finals. For the series, he averaged 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.7 blocks and 1.4 steals and shot 48.1% from the field, 40% on 3-pointers and 89.5% on free throws.\u00a0<\/p>\n For a player who thrives offensively in the paint, it was his 3-point shot that helped the Spurs return from a 3-2 deficit and win the series. He was 4-for-9 on 3s in Game 6 and 3-for-5 in Game 7.\u00a0<\/p>\n He was a force defensively, too, with 15 blocks, and his paint presence deterred several Thunder players from attempting shots. Thunder center-forward Chet Holmgren, who was an All-NBA selection this season, attempted just two shots and scored four points.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Spurs were plus-62 with Wembanyama on the court and became the first player in league history to have at least 15 made 3s and 15 blocks in a playoff series.\u00a0<\/p>\n He was visibly emotional about San Antonio\u2019s opportunity to win a championship.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWinning the Larry O\u2019Brien Trophy is a childhood dream,\u201d Wembanyama said, \u201cand\u00a0having a real shot at it, having a chance,\u00a0a\u00a0tangible chance at winning it,\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0realizing a dream.\u00a0It\u2019s a lifetime chance. You never know when it\u2019s going to happen again.\u00a0The day we win it, speaking for myself, it\u2019s going to be an amazing day of\u00a0the realization\u00a0of a dream. It\u2019s hard to bring to\u00a0words. It\u2019s almost like the meaning of my life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n He added: \u201cYou work all these hours.\u00a0It\u2019s four years type of emotions. I\u00a0want\u00a0that. I\u00a0want to\u00a0win so bad. It\u2019s like my life depends on it.\u00a0\u2026 This is the best basketball on the planet that\u2019s being played right now. And the crazy thing is, maybe I\u2019m crazy for that, but I want to do that 15,\u00a020 more times. Let\u2019s hope it doesn\u2019t become an addiction. Maybe it is already.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n 2. San Antonio\u2019s youth plus some experience wins the day<\/p>\n It was a collective effort for the Spurs with seven players reaching double figures in points, five players with at least six rebounds, four players with at least three assists, two players with at least two steals.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople won\u2019t talk about as much the habits, the character, the togetherness, the competitive response, the things we talk about in these media sessions every single day,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cAnd this team has now been pretty damn consistent for a long time, for over\u00a0100\u00a0games for the most part. And so I\u2019ll take those things with the experience that we\u2019ve gone through.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Julian Champagnie, 22, made six 3-pointers, scored 20 points and collected six rebounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n Devin Vassell, 25, had 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stephon\u00a0Castle, 21, contributed 16 points, six rebounds\u00a0and\u00a0six assists.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dylan Harper, 20,\u00a0finished with\u00a012 points, seven rebounds and three assists.\u00a0<\/p>\n De\u2019Aaron Fox, 28, scored 15 points, delivered five assists and stole the ball three times. He was one Spurs player who had Game 7 experience and helped keep a young group steady.\u00a0<\/p>\n Keldon Johnson, 26, had 11 points and scored eight points, including consecutive 3-pointers\u00a0early in the fourth quarter to stiff-arm the Thunder.\u00a0<\/p>\n They all\u00a0had\u00a0significant impacts on the game with big plays and effort.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Spurs got huge late-game performances from Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle and Keldon Johnson.<\/p>\n But the play the Spurs wanted to talk about most was Luke Kornet\u2019s block on Isaiah Hartenstein\u2019s dunk attempt with 6:31 left in the fourth quarter. Had he made it, the Thunder would\u2019ve trailed 97-93. Instead, Kornet\u2019s block led to a Castle bucket followed by a Thunder turnover and a Champagnie 3-pointer for a 102-91 Spurs lead with 5:33 to play.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never seen Luke run that fast,\u201d Champagnie said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen him run on the court and just run-run, but I\u2019m talking about he was hauling, man. But that was a huge play. That\u2019s a momentum play. They get that dunk, the crowd gets into it, guys start to feel good and you never know what happens. That was the biggest play of the game honestly. It took all the life out of the building.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n 3. Gilgeous-Alexnder\u2019s offense not enough for Thunder \u00a0<\/p>\n Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning two-time Kia MVP, almost single-handedly willed the Thunder to a victory. He had 35 points, nine assists, four rebounds and three steals.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, he was brilliant,\u201d said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault.\u00a0<\/p>\n For nearly four quarters, he was the only Thunder starter in double figures. Cason Wallace finished with 17 points, but Lu Dort had just three points and Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein combined for just 11 points and nine rebounds as San Antonio\u2019s starters outscored the Thunder\u2019s 84-66.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Highlights From Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 35-point performance in Game 7 of the West Finals.<\/p>\n It was a tough offensive series for the Thunder and Gilgeous-Alexander. Oklahoma City shot 42.6% from the field and 34.4% on 3-pointers and started Game 7 3-for-13 on 3-pointers. Gilgeous-Alexander had his most\u00a0efficient\u00a0scoring performance in Game 7, but for the series, he shot 40.9% from the field and 28.6% on 3s \u2013 both significantly lower than his season averages. San Antonio has the size, strength and defensive ability to focus on him\u00a0and make other player\u00a0players beat them.\u00a0<\/p>\n 4. What\u2019s next for Thunder who were slowed by injuries?<\/p>\n The series started with the Spurs fighting nagging injuries. It ended with the Spurs\u00a0healthier,\u00a0and the Thunder\u00a0hampered by\u00a0injuries to forward Jalen Williams and guard Ajay Mitchell, two of Oklahoma City\u2019s top offensive creators. Williams (left hamstring injury) missed 10 of the Thunder\u2019s 15 playoff games, including four of five games in the conference finals, and Mitchell (strained right calf) missed the final four games.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the Thunder weathered their absences in some games, they were not able to\u00a0overcome\u00a0those injuries in a seven-game conference finals.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWho you have available always changes the decisions you make,\u201d Daigneault said. \u201cBut as it relates to\u00a0Ajay\u00a0and Dub\u00a0(Jalen Williams),\u00a0we have not been an excuse team ever and we\u2019re not going to start now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Where do the Thunder go from here? They\u2019re going to\u00a0be\u00a0good again next season, and while improvements are\u00a0necessary,\u00a0they should guard against overreacting to this series loss. It\u2019s difficult to fully evaluate the end of their season given the injuries.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n However, it\u2019s also clear Oklahoma City needs to take a look at how they will combat Wembanyama and the Spurs for the next several seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n To be a 64-win team, to have\u00a0the net rating we did, overcome some of the adversities we did in the season, it\u2019s\u00a0something we\u2019re incredibly proud of.\u00a0It\u2019s something we can build on,\u201d Daigneault said. \u201cWhen you have a team that\u2019s together for a long time, you have to grow from every experience including the tough ones. \u2026\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe felt like we could have won the series obviously. We were right there in the game and in the series. There\u2019s nobody that we don\u2019t think we can beat, respectfully. And so obviously we\u2019re going to be disappointed with the outcome, but you don\u2019t have to choose one or the other. You can be proud of the progress you made this season and then some of the successes and you can also be disappointed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at\u00a0jzillgitt@nba.com<\/a>, find\u00a0his archive here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0follow him on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Spurs win a heavyweight battle in Game 7, taking down the No. 1 seeded Thunder to advance…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":705969,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85,343536],"class_list":["post-705968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports","tag-spurs-thunder-game-7-takeaways"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=705968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705968\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/705969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=705968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=705968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=705968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}