BBNBA Playoffs: We've got a Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals!

In the wise words of Zaza Pachulia… “NOTHING EASY! NOTHING EASY! WE’RE GOING TO GAME SEVEN BABY! GAME SEVEN! GAME SEVENNNNNNNN!!!!!”

Yes, that’s right, we have a Game 7 on the schedule. It should be a fun one, too. The (2) San Antonio Spurs used a blowout Game 6 win on Thursday night to tie the Western Confernce Finals at 3-3 against the (1) Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs led from start to finish in what was a 118-91 must-have victory, ballooning the advantage to as many as 28 points in the second half. An eight-minute scoreless stretch in the third quarter from OKC allowed San Antonio to rattle off 22 straight points. The game was effectively over from there.

But that sets us up for a massive Game 7 on Saturday back in Oklahoma City. This will be the first Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals since the Warriors snuck past the Rockets in 2018. Let’s just hope we get a closer game than what we’ve seen so far. The winning team in this series has won games by an average of 15.3 points. Outside of a classic in Game 1, most have ended up in blowouts down the stretch.

To make the NBA Finals for the second straight year, the Thunder will need more from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had arguably his worst showing of these playoffs on Thursday night. He was held firmly in check by San Antonio, posting just 15 points and four assists on 6-18 shooting (0-5 3PT) in his 28 minutes. Cason Wallace actually played well for OKC, chipping in 11 points, three rebounds, and three steals with a trio of made triples. Jalen Williams, dealing with a hamstring injury, finally returned for the Thunder after missing the last three games, but was held to one point in 10 minutes.

This game was all about the Spurs, though. Victor Wembanyama went for 28 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks. He joined Tim Duncan and David Robinson as the only players in franchise history with five games of at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in one postseason. De’Aaron Fox struggled from the field, shooting 1-9 to reach his five points, but he did chip in seven assists and five rebounds without a single turnover. Keldon Johnson added nine points and three rebounds on 4-7 shooting for good measure.

It was win-or-go-home for the Spurs, and they played like it for 48 minutes.

“(Playing with desperation) just feels like it erases kind of all the little mistakes that we do that are human nature, whether it’s in the regular season or previous games,” Wembanyama said postgame. “Just got to fight that all the time and put your backs against the wall. It feels like it’s the best opportunity to be able to play.”

Most expected this series to go seven games. We just expected the games to be closer, but our memories can erase all of that if Game 7 ends up being a great one. That’s what I want. And I’m sure that’s what you want, too. Regardless of the outcome, we’ll have two more Kentucky alums playing in the NBA Finals.

Game 7 is set for Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET on Peacock/NBC. The winner will take on Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks.

Stats from Thursday night

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)	118-91 L @ SAS	15	6-18 (0-5)	1	4	0	0	2	-28	28
Cason Wallace (OKC)	118-91 L @ SAS	11	4-6 (3-4)	3	1	3	0	2	-14	20
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	118-91 W vs. OKC	9	4-7 (1-3)	3	0	1	0	1	7	17
De’Aaron Fox (SAS)	118-91 W vs. OKC	5	1-9 (0-3)	5	7	0	0	0	17	25

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