Spurs win Game 1 of Western Conference final in double overtime vs. Thunder

Victor Wembanyama gave San Antonio the kind of Game 1 that can reset a series before it settles in. The Spurs beat the Thunder 122-115 in double overtime on Monday night at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, taking a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. Wembanyama finished with 41 points and 24 rebounds, according to the Associated Press and NBA.com. San Antonio got 24 points and a team playoff-record seven steals from Dylan Harper, while Oklahoma City was pushed into its first loss of this postseason. ### How did San Antonio take home court away immediately? The Spurs won on the road after surviving 58 minutes of pressure against the West’s top seed. Sporting News said the 122-115 result gave San Antonio a 1-0 series lead and stripped Oklahoma City of home-court advantage at the outset. NBA.com’s game page lists the opener as a double-overtime win in Oklahoma City, not San Antonio. (apnews.com) The scoreline shows how narrow the game was deep into the night. Fox Sports’ box score shows the teams tied after regulation and still tied after the first overtime before San Antonio outscored Oklahoma City 14-7 in the second extra period. ### What made Wembanyama’s night the central fact of the opener? (sportingnews.com) Wembanyama posted 41 points and 24 rebounds, numbers that defined the game from the opening half through the second overtime. The Associated Press described it as a double-overtime classic, and NBA.com highlighted his 41-point outing as the driver of San Antonio’s win. (foxsports.com) The Athletic’s live coverage said Wembanyama already had a first-half double-double, a sign that Oklahoma City never really solved his size and range for long stretches. Sporting News called his 41-point, 24-rebound line the statement performance of the night. ### Who else changed the game for the Spurs? (apnews.com) Dylan Harper supplied the second line that mattered most on the San Antonio side. The Associated Press said Harper scored 24 points and set a Spurs playoff record with seven steals, a number that points to how much transition pressure and disruption San Antonio created. (nytimes.com) The Spurs also won the possession battle in ways that usually travel in playoff series. Fox Sports listed San Antonio with 61 rebounds to Oklahoma City’s 40 and 28 points off turnovers, compared with 17 for the Thunder. Those margins helped offset Oklahoma City’s edge from 3-point range. (apnews.com) ### What did Oklahoma City still get in defeat? Alex Caruso scored 31 points and Jalen Williams added 26 for Oklahoma City, according to NBA.com’s game summary. Those numbers kept the Thunder alive through regulation and the first overtime even as San Antonio kept forcing extra possessions. The Thunder also made 17 3-pointers to San Antonio’s 13, Fox Sports said, but the Spurs were better at the foul line and on the glass. (foxsports.com) San Antonio shot 27-for-29 on free throws, while Oklahoma City went 16-for-19. ### What did San Antonio say after the game? (nba.com) Mitch Johnson called the opener “a war of wills” in postgame remarks carried by Yahoo video and other postgame coverage. The Spurs coach said the win came from resilience and execution late in a game that kept extending. Johnson’s own postgame press conference, posted by the Spurs, focused on the team’s response in a tough road setting after 10 extra minutes of basketball. (foxsports.com) The team video described him reflecting on San Antonio’s resilience and execution after the win. ### When does the series move again? Game 2 is set for Wednesday, May 20, at 8:30 p.m. ET in Oklahoma City, according to NBA.com’s series page. (yahoo.com) The schedule then shifts to San Antonio for Game 3 on Friday, May 22, and Game 4 on Sunday, May 24. (nba.com) (youtube.com)