Wembanyama scored 33 while Spurs rip Thunder to level NBA playoffs | Basketball news

Victor Wembanyama scored 33 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 103-82 victory over Oklahoma City and advance to the NBA Western Conference Finals at two games apiece.

The 22-year-old French 7ft-4-inch (2.24m) center shot 11-of-22 from the floor, 3-of-7 from three-point range and added eight rebounds, five assists, three blocked shots and two steals in 31 minutes for the Spurs on Sunday.

“I have to find ways to change the game in many areas,” Wembanyama said. “I have many responsibilities, but I came because of this, we all have to do things that we did not sign up for.”

Host San Antonio moved to 2-2 in the seven-game winning streak, with Game Five on Tuesday in Oklahoma City and Game Six back in San Antonio on Thursday.

“This was our first deficit in the chase. We just responded,” Wembanyama said. “It wasn’t a miracle, it wasn’t magic. We just did what we had to do. The stories are almost over.”

Wembanyama knows what the Spurs need to do to win the NBA championship.

“We got six more wins before the break,” he said.

The Spurs are seeking their first trip to the finals since winning the crown in 2014 while the Thunder are hoping to become the first consecutive NBA champions since Golden State in 2017-2018.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said Wembanyama was aggressive in defending San Antonio from falling into a 3-1 hole.

“Our response to competition all year has been very good, and he’s been at the forefront,” Johnson said.

“These days he felt he had a responsibility to play music for us in different ways. His anger was a sign of that. … I think he wanted that responsibility. He made it.”

The Thunder were undefeated on the road in this year’s playoffs but were held to a 6-0 record by the Spurs’ strong defense.

“Anytime we can turn defense into offense, turn it over and rebound, that’s when we do well,” Johnson said.

We can get out, run, play and get out fast. Our performance was very good tonight, and we need to improve as the series progresses.

The Spurs extended their lead to as big as 25 points while the Thunder were ahead by one point.

“I won’t go into too much detail, but basically, being conservative and trusting the game plan a lot,” said Wembanyama about the secret to Spurs’ defense.

The NBA Defensive Player of the Year also came together defensively as the Spurs forced 17 turnovers and had 11 steals.

“This is very important,” Wembanyama said. “We have individual defenders, and when we combine, we can have low-scoring teams.”

NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 19 points.

Oklahoma City won an NBA-best 64 games this season with the Spurs second at 62.

Wembanyama made a long layup – the longest basket of his career – to give the Spurs a 50-38 halftime lead and himself 22 points in the first half.

“I only think about shooting to score,” Wembanyama said. “I wasn’t a mess.”

The Spurs opened the third quarter with a 15-5 run to take their biggest lead at the time at 65-43, and Oklahoma City couldn’t catch San Antonio from there.

“We needed that momentum going into the second half,” San Antonio’s Devin Vassell said of the “Wemby” hoop.

Vassell and Stephon Castle each scored 13 points for the Spurs while De’Aaron Fox added 12 points and 10 rebounds.