OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points on Saturday in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, but the Oklahoma City Thunder lost 111–103 to the San Antonio Spurs, ending their bid to repeat as NBA champions.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the back-to-back NBA Most Valuable Player, scored efficiently from the midrange and attacked the paint throughout the game. He also hit contested jumpers, including stepback attempts over Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, but San Antonio maintained control in the closing minutes to secure the win and advance to the NBA Finals.
After the game, Gilgeous-Alexander said multiple factors affect a team’s ability to win championships in consecutive seasons.
“Sometimes it’s things you can’t control, sometimes it’s things you can control,” he said. “It’s a hard task to do one time, so to do it twice will only make it even more challenging.”
The Thunder entered the series with home-court advantage after finishing the regular season with 64 wins. San Antonio finished with 62 wins and had beaten Oklahoma City in four of five regular-season meetings before taking four of seven games in the conference finals.
Oklahoma City played without Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell for portions of the series due to injuries, a factor Gilgeous-Alexander acknowledged but did not cite as an excuse.
“Not to make any excuses, but they’re a really good team over there,” he said. “Losing Ajay and Dub the way we did in the midst of a series, you would think it would be a lot harder for us.”
Gilgeous-Alexander said the Thunder remain positioned for long-term success but must continue improving in the offseason.
“We just have to take it one day at a time from here on out,” he said. “Try to get better this summer, be a better team than we were this season — and try to get back over the hump.”