Spurs Dethrone Thunder in Game 7 Thriller, Advance to NBA Finals

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league MVP, poured in 35 points and dished out nine assists for the Thunder. Cason Wallace scored 17 points, while Jared McCain and Alex Caruso each had 12. Luke Kornet played six minutes, missed all three of his shot attempts, and finished with two points, though he did block Isaiah Hartenstein at the rim on a fast-break attempt midway through the fourth quarter.

Reactions from the Court

After the game, Wembanyama described the moment. "This feeling, I can't explain it. It's so powerful," he said. He also delivered a message in German: "Ich kann dieses Gefühl gar nicht beschreiben, es ist so mächtig."

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson praised his team's composure. "The players did what they've been doing all year and they met the biggest moment," Johnson said. He added, "Back in October, we knew we had a chance to be pretty good."

The Thunder were without Jalen Williams, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault reflected on the loss. "You have to grow from every experience, including the tough ones. And it's the NBA — there are tough ones. We can also be really disappointed. ... There's nobody that we don't think we can beat, respectfully," Daigneault said.

A Series of Momentum Shifts

Gilgeous-Alexander acknowledged the difficulty of repeating as champion. "Winning an NBA championship is very hard in itself to do one time. So to do it all over again would just only make it harder," he said.

The series was marked by dramatic swings. The Spurs led Game 4 by 18 points, the Thunder led Game 5 by 10 points, and the Spurs led Game 6 by 26 points. San Antonio won eight of the 12 meetings between the teams during the season.

New Champion Guaranteed

The Spurs now prepare to host the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night. For the eighth consecutive season, the NBA will crown a new champion. The Golden State Warriors were the last team to successfully defend a title, doing so in 2018.

Since then, every champion has been different: the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics, and Oklahoma City Thunder. Wembanyama made clear the Spurs are not satisfied. "We want four more. We're not done," he said, adding in German: "Wir sind aber noch nicht fertig, wir wollen vier Siege mehr."