Victor Wembanyama walked into the postgame press conference wearing the same composure he’d just displayed on the court. Two days after the NBA warned him for skipping media availability following a rough Game 5, the 22-year-old center found a different kind of answer: 28 points (4-of-9 from three), 10 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals in 28 minutes. The San Antonio Spurs didn’t just win Game 6 – they demolished the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-91 and forced a winner-take-all Game 7 on Saturday at Paycom Center.
“I think we were consistent, and we did what we needed to do,” Wembanyama said afterward. “Trusted the game, trusted the basketball gods.”
The third quarter closed it out
San Antonio controlled the game from the first possession, but the third quarter turned a lead into a statement. The Spurs outscored Oklahoma City 32-13 in the period – running in transition, hitting corner threes and watching Wembanyama alter or block everything near the rim. By the time the fourth quarter began, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was managing the clock rather than the game. Gregg Popovich pulled Wembanyama with 9:20 remaining. His night’s work was already done.
Dylan Harper (18 pts in 22 minutes) gave San Antonio a second credible scoring option. The rookie moved without the ball, committed to his assignments on defense and avoided anything forced – exactly what a team needs from its second option in a must-win road game.
A night SGA would rather forget
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – the back-to-back MVP who had torched the Spurs for 32 in Game 5 – finished with 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting. Wembanyama’s length disrupted his pull-up rhythm all night. Without Jalen Williams, out since Game 3 with a hamstring injury, Oklahoma City had no secondary playmaker to create space for SGA to operate. The Thunder stayed in it through the first half. The third quarter ended the argument.
What’s next
Game 7 goes Saturday, May 30, at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City (8 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock). The Thunder get home court. The Spurs get momentum, the best player on either team, and something harder to manufacture – the feeling that they’ve earned this. The winner faces the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, which opens June 3.
San Antonio hasn’t reached the Finals since 2014. Oklahoma City’s last Finals appearance was 2012. One of those droughts ends Saturday night.
Bottom line
- Wembanyama was the difference – 28 pts, 10 reb, 3 blk in 28 minutes, then watched the rest from the bench
- 32-13 in the third – the Spurs didn’t outscore OKC in that period, they broke them
- Game 7 Saturday in OKC – winner plays New York in the NBA Finals (June 3)
