Victor Wembanyama posts 41 in 2OT

Victor Wembanyama gave San Antonio 41 points and 24 rebounds in a 122-115 double-overtime win over Oklahoma City in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on May 18. The Spurs took the opener on the road at Paycom Center and grabbed a 1-0 series lead over the defending champions. Wembanyama shot 14-for-25 from the field and played 49 minutes, the longest workload of his career, according to Yahoo Sports and the NBA. The game also snapped Oklahoma City’s nine-game playoff winning streak, the NBA said. ### How big was Wembanyama’s night, exactly? The NBA said Wembanyama, at 22 years and 134 days, became the youngest player to post at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game. The previous youngest was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was 22 years and 343 days when he had a 40-20 playoff game in the 1970 NBA Finals, according to the league game summary. (nba.com) Yahoo Sports and the Associated Press both described it as a 40-20 game that set the tone for the opener. The Associated Press reported that Wembanyama’s 24 rebounds went with San Antonio’s 122 points in a game that stretched to 58 minutes. ### Who else decided the game for San Antonio? Dylan Harper added 24 points and a team playoff-record seven steals for the Spurs, the Associated Press reported. (nba.com) San Antonio got enough extra possessions and late stops to survive two overtimes after regulation failed to separate the teams. The final score was 122-115 after Oklahoma City managed only eight points in the second overtime, according to the NBA game page and box score listings. (apnews.com) San Antonio’s ability to close the game on the road gave it immediate control of home-court advantage in the series. ### What happened to Oklahoma City on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP night? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received the MVP trophy before the game, but Oklahoma City lost at home hours later, according to Yahoo Sports. (apnews.com) The Thunder still got 31 points from Alex Caruso off the bench, which the NBA said was the second-highest scoring game of his career. The NBA said Oklahoma City’s playoff winning streak dated to Game 7 of last season’s Finals before ending Monday night. (nba.com) That gave the opener an unusual split screen: a pregame MVP ceremony for Gilgeous-Alexander and a postgame result owned by San Antonio. ### Why does the rebound total matter as much as the points? Wembanyama’s 24 rebounds underscored how much of the game he controlled at both ends. (nba.com) The box score and game summary show he was not just San Antonio’s leading scorer but also its dominant interior presence across 49 minutes in a game that demanded repeated late possessions. USA Today’s preliminary live coverage focused on the scoring load and playing time, but the fuller postgame accounting from the NBA, AP and Yahoo showed the stat line was even larger than early updates indicated. (nba.com) The confirmed line was 41 points, 24 rebounds and 49 minutes, not just a high-scoring outing in overtime. ### What comes next in the series? (nba.com) Game 2 is scheduled for May 20 in Oklahoma City, with San Antonio leading the series 1-0, according to the NBA schedule attached to the Game 1 summary. The next step for the Thunder is another home game at Paycom Center before the series shifts sites. (nba.com)