Wembanyama ends Thunder's back-to-back bid: Spurs reach NBA Finals for first time in 12 years after epic Game 7

Led by Victor Wembanyama's 22 points, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 on Saturday in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals and advanced to the NBA Finals after a 12-year absence.

The Spurs, who won a game for the ages, clinched their seventh conference title at Paycom Center in Oklahoma city. The last time they had been to the NBA Finals was in the 2013-14 season, when they prevailed 4-1 over the Miami Heat.

Wembanyama, 22, this season's Defensive Player of the Year, spent the last eight minutes of the game with five fouls, on the verge of ejection after leading his team with 22 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.

"Part of the dream is going to come true, it's a feeling I can't explain," Wembanyama told NBC after being named the Western Conference finals MVP.

The French star shot 47% (7 of 15) from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range, a shot that, while not his specialty, he has taken at the right moments this season to become decisive.

"My teammates don't know how much I love them, they all had an excellent game," added the French star. "All this means a lot to me, but we are not finished, we have four more games to win."

The Spurs are aiming to win their sixth NBA title with an electrifying youth movement around their French star, shielded by the explosive duo of Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper. Castle, 21, scored 16 points, while Harper, 20, added 12.

The surprising thing is that last year San Antonio was still developing into a solid team, finishing 13th in the Western Conference. In one year, the Spurs became the second-best regular-season team, behind only the Thunder, setting up an epic and emotional showdown in the Western Conference finals.

Four days to recover

Julian Champagnie with 20 points and Stephon Castle with 16 were pivotal for the Spurs down the stretch when they had to respond to the constant onslaught of a desperate OKC.

For the Thunder, Canadian and NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played 43 minutes and was the game's top scorer with 35 points.

Guard Chet Holmgren had one of his worst nights of the season scoring four points in 33 minutes on just two shots all game.

The Thunder streamlined the game, adding speed to each of their attacks and getting the San Antonio defense in trouble. But the Spurs knew how to respond at the right time.

"We knew in October we had a chance," San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said. "OKC is a great team, it's been a phenomenal series."

"We faced this team 12 times, we know what we're made of."

Despite San Antonio building as much as a 14-point lead early in the game, the contest was evenly balanced overall. The big difference came from the 3-point line, where the Spurs made 17 of 40 attempts compared to 12 of 35 for the Thunder.

The NBA Finals will be played in the traditional best-of-seven game format beginning Wednesday at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The Spurs have four days to recover before the Finals, where they will have home-court advantage in this best-of-seven series against the Knicks, who are riding an 11-game winning streak.

With information from AFP