Victor Wembanyama scored 41 points and grabbed 24 rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 122-115 double-overtime win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. Dylan Harper added 24 points and a team playoff-record seven steals. Wembanyama sealed the game with two dunks in the final minute, including one that produced a three-point play. The Spurs stole home-court advantage and won for the fifth time in six meetings, despite missing De’Aaron Fox due to ankle stiffness. Alex Caruso scored 31 points off the bench for Oklahoma City, while Jalen Williams returned and scored 26. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 24 points and 12 assists but struggled with his shooting and said he needed to be better.
"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. Wembanyama sealed Monday night's game 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."
"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'Aaron Fox because of ankle stiffness. A great effort from everybody, said Wembanyama, who, at 22 years and 134 days, became the youngest player with at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game."
"The best player in the world, Castle told NBC after the game when asked about Wembanyama. The Frenchman was asked if he agrees with Castle's assessment. The world is eight billion people, Wembanyama said. That's eight billion opinions. Alex Caruso scored 31 points, the second-highest scoring game of his career, off the bench for the Thunder whose nine-game playoff winning streak dating to Game 7 of last season's NBA finals was snapped."
"It was a war of wills, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. The levels of mental toughness exuded by both teams ... we needed every second. It was the sixth Game 1 in NBA playoff history to go into double overtime the first since a Spurs-Warriors game in 2013."
Read at www.theguardian.com
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