Spurs rout Thunder, force Game 7 in Western Conference finals

SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama didn’t speak with reporters after the Spurs’ Game 5 loss, but he waxed poetic with teammates in the locker room that night, laying the groundwork for Thursday night’s 118-91 triumph over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals.

Details of Wembanyama’s message to the Spurs weren’t revealed, but it was clear he backed the words with actions Thursday night, scoring a game-high 28 points with 10 rebounds and three blocks to help force a Game 7 on Saturday at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. Road teams have won four games in a row and six of the past Game 7s in the conference finals.

“Just his approach after the game, the things he said in the locker room to us as a team — when you say all these things, then you back it up with actions, it kind of has an effect,” veteran forward Harrison Barnes said of Wembanyama. “As a leader being able to do that, being able to talk the talk and then walk the walk with play, that’s a rare combination.”

With San Antonio facing elimination, Wembanyama approached Game 6 from opening tip as if he were fired from a cannon. He aggressively and relentlessly attacked Oklahoma City on both ends of the floor, hitting two 3-pointers and blocking a Jared McCain shot in the first 1½ minutes.

“We played together,” Wembanyama said. “We passed the ball and trusted the game plan as always.”

By the end of the first quarter, Wembanyama was 4-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, with five rebounds, one block and one steal. By the end of the first half, he had more shot attempts (16) than he did in all of Game 5 (15) and had 22 points after finishing with 20 on Tuesday night.

The momentum Wembanyama generated with such a white-hot first half carried into the third and fourth quarters. Up 60-53 at the break, the Spurs embarked on an 11-0 run in the third quarter that pushed their lead to 21 points without Wembanyama even on the floor.

San Antonio eventually completed a 20-0 run in the third quarter, the largest allowed by the Thunder in a postseason game since the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City.

The Thunder never led in Game 6, marking the club’s first playoff loss without holding a lead since Game 1 of the 2016 Western Conference semifinals against the Spurs.

Young guards Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle contributed 18 and 17 points, respectively, while Wembanyama served as the catalyst.

“He’s not always perfect and we’ve got to get him help at times,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said of Wembanyama. “Obviously he’s 22 years old. But his passion and desire for being right where he is, at the forefront of it all, to take the responsibility, the role and the burden of what he does, I don’t know what else to say. He is comfortable with that regardless of the outcome and what that may look like. That’s maybe his biggest growth this year: not waiting for it to be perfect or to necessarily know what to do all the time, but attack the moment, have the right approach and live with the results.”

At 22 years and 144 days old, Wembanyama is the youngest player to put together a performance with at least 25 points and 10 rebounds when facing elimination. He has totaled 358 points and 168 rebounds this postseason, becoming the fifth player with at least 350 points and 150 rebounds in his first career playoff appearance.

The Spurs led by as many as 28 points, and their 27-point victory Thursday night was the largest in franchise history when facing elimination.

“When we see adversity and our backs are against the wall, we perform,” Castle said. “Not just performing, playing well, making shots. Our energy is always in the right place, and we do all the little things to give us the best opportunity to win. When we’re desperate like that and our backs are against the wall, I’m probably most confident.”

Wembanyama is, too, judging from his performance in Game 6.

“He started off the game on both ends of the floor with great energy, great focus, and he set the tone for us,” Barnes said. “The development of his voice, to be able to speak in these situations with confidence, not only lead by example, but lead with your voice in those games [is important]. Taking the criticism and acknowledging how he can be better in some of the games, whether it’s Game 2, Game 3, Game 5, and then responding that way, you don’t see a lot of guys in their third year with this level of responsibility that he has on our team to be able to step into that moment with the comfort that he has.

“He’s OK standing outside of himself, putting himself out there and just being authentic.”