Spurs beat Thunder in Game 7 to reach NBA Finals against the Knicks

The Oklahoma City Thunder took on the San Antonio Spurs Saturday night to decide the Western Conference title, after a back-and-forth series that has seen both teams leading at various points.

But Game 7 was closely contested, with the Spurs outlasting the defending champion Thunder to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals and set up a rematch with the New York Knicks from the league’s 1999 championship series. San Antonio won that title in five games.

The Thunder-Spurs Game 7 marked the 160th winner-take-all game in NBA history and the fifth this season.

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Victor Wembanyama led San Antonio with 22 points and seven rebounds in the 111-103 victory. Two-time reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a team-high 35 points for Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drives to the basket against San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama during the third quarter of Game Seven in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on May 30, 2026. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years.

In late April, New York trailed Atlanta 2-1 after back-to-back one-point losses in Games 2 and 3 of their first-round series. The Knicks are 11-0 in playoff games since, winning almost all those games by blowout.

No matter who wins this Finals series, it’ll be the eighth different franchise to win a title in the last eight seasons — extending the longest such stretch in NBA history.

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama celebrates after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs series Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Toronto won in 2019, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, then Milwaukee in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Denver in 2023, Boston in 2024, Oklahoma City last year, and now either New York or San Antonio will be added to that list.

No defending champion has even made a repeat trip to the NBA Finals since Golden State won in 2018 and returned in 2019.

Stephon Castle (5) of the San Antonio Spurs celebrates a basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first quarter in Game Seven of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center on May 30, 2026 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)

Entering Saturday, the Spurs had not reached the NBA Finals since winning the 2014 championship, defeating the Miami Heat in five games.

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Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals is scheduled to tip off Wednesday in San Antonio.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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