Game 7 awaits Spurs and Thunder, with NBA Finals berth on the road

This will likely be solely the second time in NBA historical past that two groups that received 62 or extra video games every through the common season meet in a Game 7.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The final time Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder performed a Game 7 it was the final word recreation of final video games, one which determined final season’s NBA championship.

And that’s why, because the NBA’s two-time Most Valuable Player spoke concerning the Game 7 that looms in opposition to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday evening to determine the Western Conference Finals, it may need appeared mildly shocking that he stated these 5 phrases: “Biggest game of my career.”

“It’s the next game,” he shortly added. “And if I lose, my season’s over.”

Simple as that. Game 7. Spurs vs. Thunder (8 ET, NBC/Peacock). The winner goes to the NBA Finals to play the New York Knicks beginning on Wednesday evening, the loser goes house to lament what may need been. The Thunder went 2-0 in Game 7s last season on their solution to the NBA title, whereas Spurs star Victor Wembanyama will likely be making his maiden look on the Game 7 stage.

“I know there’ll be a lot of added attention, a lot of eyes watching,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson stated. “It’ll be a hostile environment, but we’ve been saying this for a long time: We’ve had a lot of firsts. This one will be a little bit more important or higher-stakes than all the others. That’s the goal as you keep playing and the season gets longer.”

This will likely be solely the second time in NBA historical past that two groups that received 62 or extra video games every through the common season meet in a Game 7. The different was in 1981, when Boston beat Philadelphia 91-90 to win the Eastern Conference title.

And it may very well be simply argued that Wembanyama is about to play the largest recreation of his profession. Then once more, he would possibly take exception to that.

In the thoughts of the 7-foot-4 French star, who had 28 factors in 28 minutes to guide San Antonio’s romp in Game 6 that staved off elimination and acquired the Spurs into Game 7, each recreation is Game 7. It’s the angle that he’s taken to the courtroom for so long as he can bear in mind. It’s the strategy that formed him and possibly helped him get to this second.

“For me, winning in the NBA today isn’t any more important than winning a regional championship back when I was playing in the U-13 division,” Wembanyama stated in his native French after the 118-91 Game 6 win on Thursday evening. “The competitive drive feels exactly the same.”

Game 1 was a double-overtime thriller, with neither staff ever main by greater than 10 factors earlier than the Spurs finally prevailed. And in Game 2, Oklahoma City’s largest lead was 13 earlier than the Thunder received by 9.

The gaps have grown because the sequence goes alongside. Both groups led by no less than 15 factors at instances in Game 3 (a 15-point Thunder win), the Spurs led by as many as 25 earlier than profitable Game 4 by 21, the Thunder led by 20 earlier than profitable Game 5 by 13, and the Spurs led by 28 earlier than profitable Game 6 by 27.

So, the video games themselves may not have all been classics. The sequence, as a complete, appears to be like like one. And after all of the ups and downs for each groups, it comes down to at least one recreation — the twelfth between the groups this season, with San Antonio 7-4 within the earlier 11.

“The one thing that we’ve learned more than anything is every game has a new life,” stated Thunder coach Mark Daigneault. “Every game is earned if you want to win it. Game 7 will be no different. This is obviously a quality opponent. We have to play a lot better than we did (in Game 6) and we understand that from a number of experiences. … We’ll get some rest and recovery, learn from the tape, take the lessons from (Game 6) that are relevant for Game 7 and be ready to go out there and throw our best punch.”

History reveals that’s precisely what the Thunder know tips on how to do.

Since the beginning of the 2025 playoffs, Oklahoma City is 9-0 within the recreation instantly following a playoff loss — profitable these by a mean of 15.4 factors.

“We’re just a motivated group and we accept the challenge ahead,” Gilgeous-Alexander stated. “Every game is going to present a different challenge and obviously when you lose, it hurts a little more and there’s a little extra motivation and we tend to fight a little bit harder.”

And on condition that that is Game 7, there will likely be loads of battle on each side.

Gilgeous-Alexander will likely be in his fourth Game 7. Wembanyama will likely be in his first. Most of the Spurs’ rotation gamers will likely be on this stage for less than the primary or second time. But everybody is aware of the stakes.

“I think there’s been a lot of legendary Game 7s and I feel like we’re a group that wants to be a part of that,” stated Spurs rookie Dylan Harper, whose father — five-time champion Ron Harper — performed in a pair of Game 7s. “We want to be a part of that kind of history of Game 7. We’re going to go out there swinging. No matter what, we just going to leave it all on the table.”