OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) \u2014 Victor Wembanyama had 41 points and 24 rebounds, Dylan Harper finished with 24 points and a team playoff-record seven steals, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-115 in a double-overtime classic to open the Western Conference finals Monday night.<\/p>\n
Wembanyama sealed it with a pair of dunks in the final minute, one of them leading to a three-point play as the Spurs stole home-court advantage and beat the Thunder for the fifth time in six meetings this season.<\/p>\n
Stephon Castle had 17 points, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson each scored 13 and Julian Champagnie added 11 for the Spurs, who were without De\u2019Aaron Fox<\/a> because of ankle stiffness.<\/p>\n \u201cA great effort \u2014 from everybody,\u201d said Wembanyama, who, at 22 years, 134 days, became the youngest player with at least 41 points and 24 rebounds in a playoff game. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was 22 years, 352 days when he had a 46-point, 25-rebound game in the 1970 NBA Division Finals.<\/p>\n Alex Caruso scored 31 points, the second-highest scoring game of his career, off the bench for the Thunder \u2014 whose nine-game playoff winning streak dating to Game 7 of last season\u2019s Finals was snapped.<\/p>\n Jalen Williams returned<\/a> from a six-game absence caused by a hamstring strain and scored 26 points for the Thunder, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander \u2014 on the night he got his second straight Most Valuable Player<\/a> trophy \u2014 had 24 points and 12 assists but shot 7 for 23.<\/p>\n It was the sixth Game 1 in NBA playoff history to go into double overtime \u2014 the first since a Spurs-Warriors game in 2013.<\/p>\n And as the clock ticked toward midnight, Wembanyama decided enough was enough.<\/p>\n Game 2 is Wednesday at Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a war of wills,\u201d Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. \u201cThe levels of mental toughness exuded by both teams … we needed every second from everybody that played.\u201d<\/p>\n The Spurs were up by 10 with 9:10 left in regulation, wasted it all, then survived a frantic final stretch where the lead changed hands twice and the game was tied three times in a span of less than two minutes.<\/p>\n Wembanyama had an off-balance chance to win it on the last play of regulation, but Chet Holmgren swatted it away. In overtime, Wembanyama more than atoned \u2014 connecting on a tying 3-pointer from well behind the arc with 28 seconds left to tie the game and send it to a second OT.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to get better from this game,\u201d Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.<\/p>\n Gilgeous-Alexander had his worst first half, shooting-wise, in nearly three years \u2014 1 for 5 from the field, four points. It was the first time since Oct. 29, 2023, a span of 270 appearances including playoffs, that he didn\u2019t have at least two field goals before halftime.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Wembanyama was doing whatever he wanted \u2014 dunking over trios of defenders, flexing at times, finishing the half with 14 points and 10 rebounds, looking perfectly comfortable in his debut on this stage.<\/p>\n And the Spurs\u2019 lead was only seven at the break, 51-44.<\/p>\n Gilgeous-Alexander got a couple shots to fall in the third, and the Thunder even briefly reclaimed the lead. But the Spurs were unfazed and the margin was still seven. San Antonio was ahead 80-73 going into the fourth.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n