Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs kicked off the Western Conference finals with a statement victory on the road in Oklahoma City, and on Saturday night, they finished the grueling series the exact same way.

Bucking the heavy odds stacked against them in a winner-take-all Game 7 environment at the Paycom Center, the Spurs held off a resilient, roaring Oklahoma City Thunder squad 111-103.

The monumental road victory officially dethroned the defending NBA champions and booked San Antonio’s first highly anticipated trip to the NBA Finals since 2014.

“This feeling, I can’t explain it,” an emotional Wembanyama said after laughing, crying, and hugging his teammates on the court at the final buzzer. “It’s so powerful. We want four more. We’re not done. Go Spurs go.”

Wemby Leads a Masterful, Balanced Attack

Wembanyama, who was rightfully awarded the Magic Johnson Trophy as the Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player, paced San Antonio’s offensive charge with 22 points and seven rebounds.

But it was a complete, selfless team effort that ultimately carried the Spurs across the finish line, finishing the night with an impressive seven players scoring in double figures.

Julian Champagnie proved to be absolutely crucial to the perimeter game, netting 20 points—including a spectacular 18 points coming courtesy of six brilliant 3-pointers. Rookie Stephon Castle stepped up to the massive playoff pressure with 16 points, while veteran guard De’Aaron Fox added a steady 15 points to the tally.

Dylan Harper added 12 points, while Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell each finished with 11 points to round out the double-digit scorers for a young San Antonio squad that completely disregarded their lack of high-stakes playoff experience.

“Back in October, we knew we had a chance to be pretty good,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said when reflecting on his team’s journey. “There’s a lot being talked about, words like competitiveness, resolve, togetherness, execution – who gives a damn about the word experience? They had to go out and execute and they did.”

“We had a good team, a great team,” Champagnie added after the trophy celebration. “We had to stay the course and play a good game. We were passing the ball. We were playing as a team. We come out here and play together. We never knew if we were going to get this far but when you’ve got the greatest player in the world things happen.”

Defending Champions Battle till the Final Horn

The Thunder did not hand over their NBA crown easily on their home floor. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put on a masterful, valiant performance in defeat, dropping a game-high 35 points and dishing out nine assists to lead Oklahoma City’s offense.

San Antonio held a slim 80-77 lead entering the fourth quarter after a wild, back-and-forth affair. The Spurs had previously led by as many as 14 points in the first half and by 11 points in the third quarter, only to see the Thunder stage roaring comebacks both times.

The defining stretch of the game came early in the final period when Wembanyama nailed back-to-back clutch three-pointers during a wider 17-9 run to push San Antonio’s lead to 97-86 with eight minutes remaining. Moments later, Wembanyama was whistled for his fifth foul and sent to the bench.

Down their star, the Spurs’ role players remarkably held the fort. The ultimate exclamation point came midway through the fourth when reserve center Luke Kornet blocked OKC’s Isaiah Hartenstein cleanly at the rim on a fast-break, denying a dunk that would have pulled the Thunder within four points.

Kornet had played only six minutes and missed all his shots, but that single block completely halted OKC’s momentum. Short-handed without Jalen Williams due to a bad hamstring, the reigning champions simply ran out of gas.

“You have to grow from every experience, including the tough ones,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “Felt like we could have won the series. We were right there… but credit San Antonio – they’re the ones who did.”

An NBA Cup Final Rematch Awaits

The hard-fought victory sets up a highly anticipated, star-studded NBA Finals matchup against the New York Knicks, starting Wednesday night where San Antonio will host Game 1. It will be a direct repeat of this season’s NBA Cup championship game in Las Vegas, which the Knicks won with a 124-113 defeat of San Antonio back in December.

“A lot of physicality, hit first, and rebounding,” Champagnie said of the upcoming clash against the gritty Knicks. “It will be a nice challenge for us.”

With the series wrapped up, the NBA is guaranteed to crown a new champion for the eighth consecutive season.

Game 7 Box Score Leaders

San Antonio Spurs (111):

• Victor Wembanyama: 22 pts, 7 reb, 1 Magic Johnson Trophy (CFMVP)
• Julian Champagnie: 20 pts (6 3-pointers made)
• Stephon Castle: 16 pts
• De’Aaron Fox: 15 pts
• Dylan Harper: 12 pts
• Keldon Johnson: 11 pts
• Devin Vassell: 11 pts

Oklahoma City Thunder (103):

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 35 pts, 9 ast
• Cason Wallace: 17 pts
• Jared McCain: 12 pts
• Alex Caruso: 12 pts