If you did not tune into game one of the Western Conference Finals I would highly advise you to make sure you have a spot on the couch picked out for Wednesday night's game two. If it is even half of the game that was put on last night it will be well worth the watch. What was displayed in Oklahoma City last night leads me to believe we are in for an amazing seven game series. Let's break down game one!
San Antonio Spurs DEF Oklahoma City Thunder 122-115 2ot (SAS Leads WCF 1-0)
You could write an entire article about Victor Wembanyama and how he changes the game every second he is on the court and it still wouldn't do him justice. They gave him the nickname 'The Alien' for a reason, and he lives up to the name every game. Last night he led the Spurs in points, forty-one, and in rebounds with twenty-four, fifteen of them being defensive. Late in the fourth quarter and in both overtime periods he changed the game and potentially the course of this series.
1st Quarter
The Thunder entered this game as not only a heavy favorite to win the game, they were also a minus money favorite to win the NBA Finals before the West Finals even tipped off. It appeared the Spurs took that as whiteboard material as they opened the game on a 7-0 run. Caruso tried to calm the storm with a three pointer, his first of eight in game one. To no avail as the Spurs answered back with a couple more baskets growing their lead to nine. After exchanging baskets for the next four minutes the Spurs held a lead of 17-12. Now it was Oklahoma City's turn to show why they are the top seed that no one has been able to best this playoff run. They went on a 10-2 run taking their first lead of the game. They led 22-19 with just over two minutes remaining in the first. Like the middle of the first quarter both teams traded buckets. The quarter would come to a close as the Thunder's Jalen Williams makes both of his free throws to tie the game at twenty-seven.
2nd Quarter
This quarter would be San Antonio's quarter to build a lead heading into the half. They went on a few runs of seven and eight points during the second quarter. The Spurs took advantage of the Thunder's poor shooting performance. They shot a poor twenty-two percent over the span of the second quarter, making just five field goals and scoring seventeen points. The Spurs would use their runs and the subpar shooting from the Thunder to take a seven point lead into the half, 51-44.
3rd Quarter
They say basketball is a game of runs. The best example of this was the third quarter of this game. Trailing by seven points the Thunder knew they had to open the half hot, and that's what they did. They started the 3rd on a 14-6 run to take back the lead 58-57. Jalen Williams played a big role in that run scoring or assisting on nine of the fourteen points during the run. When a team is playing as well as the Spurs were heading into the series you can only contain them for so long. They answered back with a run of their own. The Spurs played team basketball going on a run of 18-9 with five different players scoring during the run. With just under two minutes left in the third the Spurs held the lead 75-67. The teams traded three's over the next few possessions ending the third each scoring twenty-nine points, Spurs lead 80-73.
4th Quarter
Make or break time for the Thunder. A perfect 8-0 record in the playoffs on the line as they trail the Spurs by seven. On Sunday Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was announced as the MVP for the second straight season. Needing an MVP performance to keep the perfect run alive, Shai answered the call. He scored twelve of the Thunder's twenty eight fourth quarter points. He also assisted on three of the 4th quarter baskets. Shai led the charge for the Thunder as OKC chipped away at the seven point deficit for the entire quarter. The Spurs never scored back to back baskets in the quarter. The defensive dominance and offensive consistency displayed by the Thunder led to a 4th quarter victory 28-21. Shai and Wemby traded late baskets, sending the game to overtime tied at 101.
Overtime / Double Overtime
The first few minutes of overtime were relatively uneventful. There were only seven points scored by each team in the first overtime period. With the score being 106-105 in the favor of the Thunder with just under a minute to go Shai spins past two defenders and dunks the ball to take a late three point lead. The teams exchange missed jumpers. Spurs ball with thirty-one seconds left. Wemby passes the ball up the court to Castle who takes one dribble and dishes it back to Wemby. For logo distance Wemby sinks a three to quiet the home crowd and force a second overtime period.
The second overtime period was all San Antonio. Led by Wemby and Harper the Spurs took control of the game. Wemby scored nine and Harper scored five and assisting on two buckets were the difference makers. The Spurs outscored the Thunder by seven points to steal game one on the road 122-115.
Game two will be one you do not want to miss Wednesday night. Tune into NBC at 8:30pm to catch what is sure to be another electric Western Conference Finals game.
As always Who Dey & Go Redlegs!
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