Spurs beat Thunder double-overtime

The San Antonio Spurs opened the Western Conference finals with a 125-118 double-overtime win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, May 18, at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. Victor Wembanyama led San Antonio with 41 points, 24 rebounds and three blocks, according to NBA.com’s game recap. The game stretched into a second overtime before the Spurs pulled away, giving San Antonio a 1-0 lead over the defending champions. NBC Sports said the broadcast was the most-watched Western Conference finals Game 1 ever for the network, peaking at 12 million viewers in the second overtime. ### How did San Antonio get out of Oklahoma City with Game 1? Victor Wembanyama’s 41-point, 24-rebound night set the terms of the game for San Antonio. NBA.com said the Spurs star delivered that line in his first conference finals appearance, while rookie guard Dylan Harper added 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and seven steals. The Spurs outlasted Oklahoma City over 58 minutes after regulation and the first overtime failed to settle the opener. The 125-118 final also underscored how narrow the margin was for most of the night. NBA.com described the game as an instant classic, and its game page said it was the sixth Game 1 in NBA playoff history to reach double overtime. As the game moved toward midnight, San Antonio made the decisive plays late in the second extra period. ### Why was Wembanyama the central figure? Wembanyama’s production was historic by any normal playoff standard. NBA.com’s takeaways said Oklahoma City entered the series knowing it had a problem in the 7-foot-4 Spurs star, and Game 1 reinforced that point. His 41 points and 24 rebounds gave San Antonio both scoring volume and control of the glass in a game that kept extending. CBS Sports, in its preview of the next game, also framed Wembanyama as the player who carried the Spurs in the opener. That matched the numbers from the league recap and the broader reaction around the series after San Antonio stole home-court advantage from Oklahoma City. ### How unusual was this opener? Monday’s game was rare both for the matchup and for the stage. Sportsnet reported that both NBA conference finals openers went to overtime for the first time in league history. In the West, the Spurs and Thunder took that a step further by needing two extra periods. NBC Sports added a television measure of the game’s reach. The network said its Monday night telecast averaged 9.2 million viewers and peaked at 12 million in the second overtime, up 71% from the comparable game last year. Those figures reflected the length and late-game swings of the opener. ### What changed immediately for the series? San Antonio’s win changed the pressure on Game 2. By taking the opener on the road, the Spurs forced Oklahoma City to respond quickly at home rather than carry a series lead forward. The result also put added focus on whether the Thunder could contain Wembanyama without letting San Antonio’s other scorers dictate the game. The split came fast. ESPN reported that Oklahoma City answered with a 122-113 win in Game 2 on Wednesday, May 20, behind 30 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, tying the series 1-1 before it shifted to San Antonio. ### What should readers know about the schedule from here? Game 2 was scheduled for Wednesday, May 20, at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, according to CBS Sports’ series preview, and Oklahoma City won to level the series. Yahoo Sports said the Western Conference finals now move to San Antonio with the teams tied 1-1. The next milestone is Game 3 in San Antonio, where Wembanyama, Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the series’ main rotation players will resume a matchup that already produced one double-overtime opener and a Thunder response two nights later.