It’s time.
The Oklahoma City Thunder (64-18) and San Antonio Spurs (62-20) have already delivered an instant classic series in the first postseason meeting between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama. Now, it all comes down to a decisive Game 7 to see who moves on from the Western Conference to face the red-hot New York Knicks in the NBA Finals.
Will SGA and company preserve their legacy and keep their back to back bid alive? Or will Wemby and the new Spurs on the block open their championship window earlier than expected? Keep up with Ballislife’s Game 7 live log to find out!
Live updates will begin after tip-off
FINAL: Spurs 111, Thunder 103
Spurs win series 4-3. Advance to their first NBA final since 2014. Will face the New York Knicks beginning June 3.
Fourth Quarter
0.0 – Devin Vassell puts the punctuation on San Antonio’s Western Conference title with four seconds left, slamming the ball through the basket on the fastbreak as OKC decides not to foul. Spurs win Game 7 by a final score of 111-103. Victor Wembanyama is incredibly emotional as he congratulates his teammates. What a game, what a series. And what a performance by SGA in the loss. The Thunder just didn’t have enough firepower to compete down the stretch without Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell, but the Spurs are the new undisputed Kings of the West and may very well be for a long time.
42.9 – Stephon Castle and Cason Wallace exchange buckets, setting the stage at 109-103 Spurs as we approach the game’s closing moments. Can the Thunder pull off the improbable?
2:00 – CASON WALLACE! His fourth three of the night is his biggest so far, cutting the Spurs lead to 107-101. Crunch time coming in OKC.
3:45 – DYLAN HARPER FROM DEEP. The rookie responds to a bucket from SGA, pushing the Spurs advantage to 107-95 as the time continues to tick. It’s getting later and later for the defending champions, and their elimination may be imminent at this point.
4:26 – Dylan Harper tips it in, putting the Spurs ahead double digits once again at 104-93. Mark Daigneault calls Oklahoma City’s final timeout in response, and the defending champions are reeling right now. That stretch occured while Victor Wembanyama was on the bench with five fouls too, and now he’s re-entering the game. More bad news for OKC.
5:28 – The Spurs capitalize on Kornet’s huge block, first with a two-pointer from Stephon Castle that stretched the lead to 99-92. That was followed by yet another 3-pointer from Julian Champagnie, pushing the advantage to 102-93. Everything is coming up Spurs right now.
6:30 – LUKE KORNET WITH AN INCREDIBLE DEFENSIVE PLAY! Isaiah Hartenstein stole the ball and had a path for the dunk, but Kornet chases him down and blocks him from behind to prevent the basket.
6:48 – SGA is still doing SGA things, as he effortlessly hits the turnaround jumper over De’Aaron Fox from the free throw line to bring the Thunder back within six, 97-91. It’s the MVP’s first points of the fourth quarter, and he’s now at 33 for the game on 11-of-19 shooting.
7:50 – SGA finds Hartenstein on the slip screen, who slams the ball through the basket and gets awarded the foul on top of it. He converts from the line, cutting San Antonio’s lead to 97-89.
8:00 – Right after Cason Wallace cuts the Spurs lead to 92-86 with a triple, Victor Wembanyama makes his third 3-pointer of the night with 8:43 left to put the Spurs back up 95-86. A few possessions later, Keldon Johnson successfully converts at the basket to push the Spurs lead to 97-86. Can the Spurs hang on to this double digit lead once and for all, or do the defending champs have one more rally left in them?
10:33 – KELDON JOHNSON AGAIN. Two huge threes for the Sixth Man of the Year on back-to-back possessions, and the Spurs go up 87-82 early in the frame.
10:52 – The veteran Keldon Johnson shows up to the party, draining a 3-pointer to put the Spurs up 84-79. However, Cason Wallace formulates a quick response for OKC and hits a 3-pointer of his own, cutting the lead to 84-82.
Third Quarter
0:48 – Wembanyama splits a pair of free throws, pushing the Spurs lead to 80-77. That’s where it remains for the rest of the quarter, and the Spurs are heading into the fourth quarter of Game 7 with a three point advantage over the defending champions.
1:06 – Down 79-74, Jaylin Williams comes through with a clutch 3-pointer for the Thunder that cuts the Spurs’ lead to 79-77. Williams has been everywhere for OKC tonight, racking up 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting so far while being one of the team’s leading presences on the defensive end.
2:46 – Alex Caruso is now sent to the free throw line for OKC and he converts both attempts, bringing the Thunder within three points at 77-74. A timely 7-0 run for the Thunder that comes immediately after Julian Champagnie nearly flipped the game on its head entirely.
3:15 – The Thunder are alive once again. SGA gets to the line on back to back possessions and makes all five free throw attempts, cutting the Spurs lead to 77-72. The MVP now has 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting and 9-of-11 attempts from the free throw line, and we still have well over a quarter of hoops left.
5:16 – Victor Wembanyama’s second 3-pointer of the night pushes the Spurs’ lead to 76-65 and extends their run to 16-2. The last thing OKC needs is for him to get hot.
6:12 – WELCOME TO THE JULIAN CHAMPAGNIE SHOW. The Spurs are on a torrid 11-2 run and have regained a 73-65 lead. Champagnie has scored eight more points since he tied the game at 63 just over two minutes of game time ago and is currently sitting at 17 points, with 5-of-6 of his attempts from 3-point range finding the net. Every Game 7 has an unsung hero, and he might just be the guy for San Antonio tonight. Wow.
8:29 – Down 63-60, Julian Champagnie hits from 3-point range for San Antonio, which not only ends OKC’s 8-0 run but also ties the game at 63 and gives Champagnie 9 points on 3-of-4 shooting this evening, with all of his attempts coming from beyond the arc.
9:07 – OKC IS BACK ON TOP. SGA answered Wembanyama’s 3-pointer with a triple of his own to cut the Spurs’ lead to 60-58, and than Alex Caruso buries another triple to put the Thunder ahead 61-60. Caruso was 1-of-9 before that shot, but that was as timely a moment as ever for that second field goal to come.
10:05 – There’s Wemby. An emphatic slam by the 7’5 wunderkind puts OKC ahead 60-55 after a relatively defensive two minutes to start the second half.
Halftime Notes: Spurs 56, Thunder 53
SGA was passive to start the night but took over in the second quarter, scoring 13 of his 19 first half points in the frame to lead the Thunder back from a 14-point first quarter deficit. The Spurs managed to escape the half with a 3-point lead, but they’re going to need more from Victor Wembanyama, who has just 10 points and three rebounds on 4-of-9 shooting in the first half. Devin Vassell is the Spurs leading scorer at the break with 12 points, but he’s done so on 5-of-11 shooting and is a team low -4.
Second Quarter
4.3 – A pair of Chet Holmgren free throws with 1:17 left in the half pushed OKC’s lead to 53-49, but the Spurs close the second half on a 7-0 run punctuated by a crafty lay-in by Victor Wembanyama to close out the half. Spurs up 56-53, and it appears we’re in store for an all-time second half.
1:33 – The Oklahoma City Thunder have taken the lead. I repeat, the Oklahoma City Thunder have taken the lead. Jaylin Williams converts the two-pointer, pushing the Thunder ahead 51-49 and giving them their first lead since Game 5.
2:17 – WE’RE TIED AT 49. After De’Aaron Fox put the Spurs back ahead by three, Luguentz Dort ties the game with a long range triple and the Thunder are officially back in business. From down 14 in the first to level in the second.
2:52 – SGA AGAIN. OKC back within a point, 47-46.
3:09 – Guess what? More chippiness. Alex Caruso grabs Devin Vassell by the arm and pulls him to the ground during Vassell’s fast break lay-up attempt. It’s called a common foul on the floor and stands upon review, but Vassell and the Spurs were heated by Caruso’s actions to say the least.
3:50 – Welcome to the SGA show. He pulls up for a deep two after a lengthy possession and buries it, bringing the Thunder back within two points at 46-44. 11 straight points for the MVP, who has answered the call and then some in this second quarter.
5:30 – SGA shakes and shimmies his way inside and finds Chet Holmgren, who is sent to the free throw line for a pair that could bring OKC back within four if he converts. He does not convert. Both attempts clank off the rim, and the Spurs remain ahead 44-38.
6:51 – Down 44-33, SGA buries a triple to cut the Spurs’ lead to eight. 11 points for the MVP so far on 4-of-6 shooting, but he’s currently -9 in his 14 minutes. Only Chet Holmgren has a worse +/- on the floor tonight, clocking in at -12 in his 13 minutes thus far. Spurs up 44-36.
8:58 – As soon as the Thunder got back within immediate striking distance, the Spurs answer. First it was a close-range floated from De’Aaron Fox, than it was a deep 3-pointer from Victor Wembanyama, and now the Spurs are back up 40-31 with the momentum swinging back in their direction once again.
9:38 – McCain. Again. He’s up to double-digits with 10 points and the Thunder are back within four points, 35-31.
11:43 – Mark Daigneault abandons his traditional rotation and leaves SGA on the floor to start the second quarter, and SGA starts the second quarter with a mid-range step back to bring the Thunder back within five points at 32-27.
First Quarter
15.8 – Jared McCain with another 3-pointer for Oklahoma City, cutting the Spurs lead to 32-25 while giving McCain eight points in the first quarter off the bench. If the Thunder end up winning this game, that’s a shot that we may be remembering later on.
40.2 – And here comes the chippiness. Wembanyama throws an elbow at Isaiah Hartenstein’s face while driving to the basket from the top of the key, but Harteinstein for some reason gets called for the foul. This prompts a furious Mark Daigneault to challenge, but Wembanyama avoids a technical after review. However, Daigneault ends up with a technical for his animated display. Wembanyama goes to the free throw line after all of that and makes both, pushing the Spurs lead to 32-22.
3:49 – Jaylin Williams kept the Thunder rally going with a big-time defensive play, leading to two SGA free throws that cut the Spurs lead to seven, 27-20.
4:24 – Here come the Thunder. After Julian Champagnie’s 3-pointer extended the Spurs’ lead to a game-high 14 points, Jared McCain took matters into his own hands for OKC and has scored five straight to cut that lead to single digits, 27-18.
6:33 – SGA cut the Spurs lead to 13-8 with a close ranger floater just a few possessions ago, but a 3-pointer from Julian Champagnie and a slam from Stephon Castle pushes the Spurs lead to double-digits, 18-8, for the first time. Are we tracking toward another blowout like the last five games have been?
8:38 – The Spurs offense is clicking early, as a pair of buckets from Wembanyama and Stephon Castle have catapulted them to a 10-4 lead. Both teams started a combined 6-of-6 from the field but Oklahoma City has missed its last three FG attempts since.
11:39 – Who else but Wembanyama? The Alien converts off the glass on the Spurs’ opening possession and we’re off to the races in OKC.
Starting Lineups
Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Luguentz Dort, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein
Spurs: DeAaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Victor Wembanyama
Injuries
Thunder: Jalen Williams (out, hamstring), Ajay Mitchell (out, calf)
Spurs: N/A
Line: OKC -3
O/U: 212.0
Editor’s Pick
The post Game 7 LIVE Log: Spurs 111, Thunder 103 appeared first on Ballislife.com.