Spurs, 8th seed, stun Thunder 122-115 double OT

San Antonio opened the Western Conference finals by taking home-court advantage from Oklahoma City in a game that stretched to two overtimes and forced both teams deep into their rotations. The Spurs beat the Thunder 122-115 on Monday, May 18, at Paycom Center, with Victor Wembanyama delivering 41 points and 24 rebounds in 48:42. NBA.com listed the result as Game 1 of the West finals and showed San Antonio ahead 1-0 in the series. The box score shows how unusual the game was. San Antonio put five players in double figures, got 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven steals from Dylan Harper, and logged 61 rebounds as a team. Oklahoma City, the defending champion according to NBA.com's Game 1 coverage, got 31 points from Alex Caruso, 26 from Jalen Williams and 24 from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander but still lost the rebounding battle 61-40. (nba.com) ### How did the Spurs flip a road game that went 58 minutes? Victor Wembanyama's line explains most of it. NBA.com's box score credited him with 14-for-25 shooting, 12-for-13 from the foul line, nine offensive rebounds and three blocks, production that let San Antonio keep generating extra possessions even when the offense stalled. NBA.com's Game 1 takeaways also pointed to one late shot that changed the game's direction. (nba.com) The league's recap said Wembanyama hit a 28-foot 3-pointer with 27 seconds left in the first overtime to tie the score at 108-108 and halt Oklahoma City's momentum. ### Why does the rebounding margin stand out so much? San Antonio's 61 rebounds were the clearest team-stat edge in the game. (nba.com) Oklahoma City finished with 40, and the Spurs also had a 15-9 edge on the offensive glass, according to the official box score. Those extra chances helped offset 21 Spurs turnovers and a 30.2% night from 3-point range. (nba.com) NBA.com's live recap highlighted the same split after the final buzzer. The league said San Antonio won the rebounding battle 61-40 even as Oklahoma City held a 50-16 advantage in bench points. ### What did Oklahoma City get right, and where did it fall short? Alex Caruso gave Oklahoma City a major lift. (nba.com) The veteran guard scored 31 points in 31:40 and made 8 of 14 from 3-point range, the best scoring output on either bench. Jalen Williams added 26 points, and Gilgeous-Alexander had 12 assists with five steals. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also had an inefficient scoring night by his standards. (nba.com) The Thunder star shot 7 for 23 from the field and finished minus-15 in 51:16, while Chet Holmgren scored eight points on seven attempts and Oklahoma City committed 26 personal fouls. ### Was this really an eighth-seed style shock, or a matchup between top teams? (nba.com) The social framing around an "eighth seed" does not match the official bracket. NBA.com's Western Conference finals page lists the matchup as Thunder (1) versus Spurs (2), and ESPN's postseason schedule page shows San Antonio finished the regular season 62-20. (nba.com) That matters because the upset was about venue, not seeding. Oklahoma City entered the series as the No. 1 seed and host, while San Antonio arrived as the No. 2 seed and left with a 1-0 series lead. ### What happens next in the series? Game 2 is set for Wednesday, May 20, at 8:30 p.m. ET in Oklahoma City. NBA.com's conference finals page and playoff schedule page list NBC and Peacock as the broadcast outlets for the next game. (cdn-uat.nba.com)