The San Antonio Spurs dethroned the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-115 in a double-overtime to open the Western Conference finals on Monday night.
Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 41 points and 24 rebounds, Dylan Harper scored 24 points, Stephon Castle had 17 points, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson each added 13 points.
San Antonio played without De’Aaron Fox due to ankle stiffness.
On the other hand, Alex Caruso led the Thunder with 31 points, the second-highest scoring game of his career, off the bench.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 24 points and 12 assists, with cold-shooting of 7 for 23, but he just obtained his second straight MVP trophy before the clash.
Gilgeous-Alexander had the worst first half, with 1 for 5 from the field, four points. It was the first time since Oct. 29, 2023, a span of 270 appearances including playoffs, that he didn’t have at least two field goals before halftime.
It was the sixth Game 1 in NBA playoff history to go into double overtime since the first in the Spurs-Warriors game in 2013.
San Antonio was up by 10 with 9:10 left in regulation, but blew it up and then survived a frantic final stretch where the lead changed hands twice, and the game was tied three times in a span of less than two minutes.
Wembanyama had an off-balance chance to win it on the last play of regulation, but Chet Holmgren erased it for overtime.
In overtime, Wembanyama sank a deep-tying 3-pointer from well behind the arc with 28 seconds left to tie the game and send it to a second OT.
The French big man is dunking over defenders to lead the Spurs 51-44 at the break.
Gilgeous-Alexander tried to make up for his cold first half, as the Thunder briefly reclaimed the lead, but the Spurs were ahead 80-73 going into the fourth.
Game 2 is on Wednesday in Oklahoma City.