{"id":313624,"date":"2026-05-29T07:23:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T07:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/313624\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T07:23:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T07:23:11","slug":"stephon-castle-spurs-feel-like-were-better-than-this-team-ahead-of-game-7-vs-thunder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/313624\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephon Castle, Spurs ‘feel like we\u2019re better than this team’ ahead of Game 7 vs Thunder"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO \u2014 The Western Conference finals<\/a> are headed to the distance.<\/p>\n

The OKC Thunder<\/a> and San Antonio Spurs<\/a> will play for a winner-take-all Game 7 after the Spurs rolled to a 118-91 win in Game 6<\/a> on Thursday night inside Frost Bank Center.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

With its season hanging in the balance, San Antonio delivered its most complete performance of the series behind a dominant bounce-back outing from star Victor Wembanyama<\/a>. The 7-foot-4 phenom imposed his will early, finishing with 28 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in just 28 minutes while knocking down four 3-pointers.<\/p>\n

Spurs teammates emphasized after their Game 5 loss that they needed a more aggressive version of Wembanyama. He responded immediately.<\/p>\n

But according to Wembanyama, motivation was never tied to one bad night<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Today, winning in the NBA means just as much to me as winning back when I was playing at the middle-school level or in regional competitions,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cCompetitiveness has always been the same for me.”<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

More: Victor Wembanyama, Spurs dismantle Thunder to force Game 7 for NBA Finals spot<\/a><\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts with guard Stephon Castle (5) in the second half during Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on May 28, 2026.<\/p>\n

San Antonio\u2019s urgency showed everywhere.<\/p>\n

Second-year guard Stephon Castle<\/a> continued his breakout postseason run with 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds while helping fuel the Spurs on both ends of the floor.<\/p>\n

Following San Antonio\u2019s Game 5 road loss<\/a>, Castle said the Spurs tend to thrive when desperation kicks in. Thursday only reinforced that belief.<\/p>\n

And while Castle has already experienced pressure-packed moments \u2014 including winning a national championship as a freshman at UConn in 2024 and a gold medal with Team USA at the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas Championship \u2014 he admitted this stage feels different.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

But none of those feats pale in comparison to being a win away from the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n

“As a group, we all want this,” Castle said. “It’s right there in front of us. \u201cWe feel like collectively that we\u2019re better than this team and we didn’t want to let our fans down on our home court either. So coming out here with a chance to go back to OKC and play a Game 7 I feel like is all the motivation we need.”<\/p>\n

More: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder get smacked in Game 6 by Spurs | NBA Playoffs report card<\/a><\/p>\n

1 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 NBA Playoffs WCF<\/p>\n

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – MAY 28: Chet Holmgren #7 of the Oklahoma City Thunder warms up prior to a game against the San Antonio Spurs in Game Six of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Frost Bank Center on May 28, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas.<\/p>\n

(Christian Petersen, Getty Images)\"\"<\/p>\n

1 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 NBA Playoffs WCF<\/p>\n

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – MAY 28: Chet Holmgren #7 of the Oklahoma City Thunder warms up prior to a game against the San Antonio Spurs in Game Six of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Frost Bank Center on May 28, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas.<\/p>\n

(Christian Petersen, Getty Images)\"\"<\/p>\n

2 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 NBA Playoffs WCF<\/p>\n

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – MAY 28: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs warms up prior to a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Six of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Frost Bank Center on May 28, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas.<\/p>\n

(Christian Petersen, Getty Images)\"\"<\/p>\n

3 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 NBA Playoffs WCF<\/p>\n

May 28, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) practices before game six of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

(Daniel Dunn, Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images)\"\"<\/p>\n

4 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 NBA Playoffs WCF<\/p>\n

May 28, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) practices before game six of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

(Daniel Dunn, Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images)\"\"<\/p>\n

5 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 NBA Playoffs WCF<\/p>\n

May 28, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder Chet Holmgren enters the stadium before game six of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

(Dustin Safranek, Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images)\"\"<\/p>\n

6 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 NBA Playoffs WCF<\/p>\n

May 28, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA;
\nOklahoma City Thunder Aaron Wiggins enters the stadium before game six of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

(Dustin Safranek, Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images)\"\"<\/p>\n

7 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 NBA Playoffs WCF<\/p>\n

May 28, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder Center Isaiah Hartenstein enters the stadium before game six of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

(Daniel Dunn, Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images)\"\"<\/p>\n

8 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 NBA Playoffs WCF<\/p>\n

May 28, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) enters the stadium before game six of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

(Daniel Dunn, Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Now, the series shifts back to OKC with everything on the line.<\/p>\n

Game 7 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday on NBC and Peacock.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The anticipation is already building inside both locker rooms.<\/p>\n

“I think a lot of fans are going to be happy,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “This is the best line in sports I believe. We’ll be prepared, take the next 40 hours or whatever it may be to try to get ready, get organized, and get ready to go into a hostile environment against the defending champs in the Western Conference finals.<\/p>\n

“For a team that’s done it multiple times and knows exactly what it takes, I would expect to get their best punch. We’re gonna go out with our eyes wide open and expect nothing less.”<\/p>\n

Jordan Davis\u00a0covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jordan? He can be reached atjdavis@oklahoman.com<\/a>\u00a0or on X\/Twitter at @thejordancdavis<\/a>. Sign up forThe Varsity Club newsletter\u00a0to access more high school coverage. Support Jordan\u2019s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com<\/a><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Stephon Castle, Wemby looking forward to Spurs-Thunder Game 7 battle<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2014 The Western Conference finals are headed to the distance. The OKC Thunder and San Antonio…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":313625,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[11246,82,84,83,1066,41611,1504,4847,509,102235],"class_list":["post-313624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-okc-thunder","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-san-antonio-spurs","tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","tag-stephon-castle","tag-the-spurs","tag-victor-wembanyama","tag-western-conference-finals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/313625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}