Spurs finish the Thunder and Wemby finally gets his Finals moment

Spurs finish the Thunder and Wemby finally gets his Finals moment

Victor Wembanyama is headed to his first NBA Finals after the San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals on Saturday, May 30. Wembanyama put up 22 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, then turned into a very emotional human being as the clock hit zero at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. He tucked his face into his jersey, pumped his fists, hugged De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Julian Champagnie, and later said: "Winning the Larry O’Brien is a childhood dream," and "It's an unreal chance. My life is amazing and being with these guys, living these things with these guys that I love so, so, so much, it's amazing," and "I want to have this feeling plenty, plenty more times in my life." He was also named Western Conference finals Most Valuable Player.

Gobble's Take: The Alien got the trophy, the tears, and the ticket to the big show — not a bad Saturday night.
Source: Yahoo Sports NBA

Luke Kornet’s chasedown block stole the Thunder’s last real chance

Luke Kornet’s final line from Game 7 was tiny on paper — six minutes, 0-for-3 shooting, two points, four rebounds — except for the one giant thing: a block that will live in Spurs lore. With about 6 1/2 minutes left, the Spurs were up 97-91 and Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein was driving for what looked like a dunk, but Kornet chased it down and killed the moment at the basket. The Thunder never got any closer, and the Spurs won 111-103 to reach the NBA Finals. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson called it the "Biggest play of the game," Stephon Castle said, "Luke, he’s been there, he’s seen it, and he makes winning plays every game," and Kornet joked that someone compared it to LeBron James’ chasedown block of Andre Iguodala in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals: "Let's see which one has more staying power in the record books or history or whatever," he said.

Gobble's Take: One block, one bench eruption, one entire game getting turned into a memory with no rim attached.
Source: Yahoo Sports NBA

Shai did his part, but the Spurs still ended Oklahoma City’s run

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tipped his cap after the season ended and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s reign as NBA champions ended with it. He scored 35 points in Game 7 and was his usual mid-range menace, paint attacker and stepback problem, but the Spurs were greater and won the Western Conference finals. Gilgeous-Alexander said, "So many things go into it," and added, "Sometimes it’s like things you can’t control, sometimes it’s things you can control. Yeah, it’s a hard task to do one time, so to do it twice will only make it even more challenging." He also pointed to the Thunder’s injuries to Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell, and said of San Antonio: "Yeah, they’re young, they're talented, well-coached," and "Play the right way, play together, seems like they like each other. You don’t beat us without the makeup and they beat us. They have the makeup to go get one."

Gobble's Take: A 35-point masterpiece still wasn’t enough to stop the Spurs from slamming the door on the champs.
Source: Yahoo Sports NBA

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