OKLAHOMA CITY — Victor Wembanyama scored 41 points and grabbed 24 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 122-115, in double overtime in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday night.
Before the game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received the NBA Most Valuable Player award.
Wembanyama said watching Gilgeous-Alexander receive the award motivated him.
“Yeah, for sure,” Wembanyama said.
At 22 years and 134 days old, Wembanyama became the youngest player in NBA history to record at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game. He surpassed the mark set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who posted a 46-point, 25-rebound game during the 1970 playoffs at 22 years and 352 days old.
Wembanyama also became the second Spurs player to record a 40-point, 20-rebound playoff game, joining David Robinson. He joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to post at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in their conference finals debut.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson praised Wembanyama’s performance after the game.
“He has a rare desire to step into every moment that’s in front of him,” Johnson said.
Wembanyama made several key plays late in the game. With just over one minute remaining in the second overtime, he completed a three-point play with a dunk over Chet Holmgren after the Thunder cut the deficit to one point.
He later caught an alley-oop pass from Stephon Castle for a dunk with 22 seconds left to extend San Antonio’s lead to six points.
In the first overtime, Wembanyama tied the game with a 28-foot 3-pointer after Oklahoma City took a three-point lead during a 7-0 run.
“Confidence through the roof,” Spurs rookie Dylan Harper said of Wembanyama’s shot.
Wembanyama also scored a turnaround basket over Jalen Williams in the closing seconds of regulation to give San Antonio a 101-99 lead before Gilgeous-Alexander tied the game with a layup to force overtime.
Wembanyama finished 14-for-25 from the field and made 12 of 13 free throws.
Harper added 24 points, 11 rebounds, seven steals and six assists while starting in place of De’Aaron Fox, who missed the game because of right ankle soreness.
Magic Johnson is the only other rookie to record at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals in a conference finals game.
Johnson said Harper played well on both ends of the floor.
“I thought he was phenomenal,” Johnson said.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points, 12 assists and five steals but shot 7-for-23 from the field.
“We knew it was going to be a dog fight,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’ve just got to be better, me in particular.”
Alex Caruso scored a playoff career-high 31 points for Oklahoma City, making eight 3-pointers. Williams added 26 points in his return from a hamstring injury.
Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday in Oklahoma City.
