SAN ANTONIO — The Western Conference finals are headed to the distance.
The OKC Thunder and San Antonio Spurs will play for a winner-take-all Game 7 after the Spurs rolled to a 118-91 win in Game 6 on Thursday night inside Frost Bank Center.
With its season hanging in the balance, San Antonio delivered its most complete performance of the series behind a dominant bounce-back outing from star Victor Wembanyama. The 7-foot-4 phenom imposed his will early, finishing with 28 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in just 28 minutes while knocking down four 3-pointers.
Spurs teammates emphasized after their Game 5 loss that they needed a more aggressive version of Wembanyama. He responded immediately.
But according to Wembanyama, motivation was never tied to one bad night.
“Today, winning in the NBA means just as much to me as winning back when I was playing at the middle-school level or in regional competitions,” Wembanyama said. “Competitiveness has always been the same for me.”
San Antonio’s urgency showed everywhere.
Second-year guard Stephon Castle continued his breakout postseason run with 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds while helping fuel the Spurs on both ends of the floor.
Following San Antonio’s Game 5 road loss, Castle said the Spurs tend to thrive when desperation kicks in. Thursday only reinforced that belief.
And while Castle has already experienced pressure-packed moments — including winning a national championship as a freshman at UConn in 2024 and a gold medal with Team USA at the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas Championship — he admitted this stage feels different.
But none of those feats pale in comparison to being a win away from the NBA Finals.
“As a group, we all want this,” Castle said. “It’s right there in front of us. “We feel like collectively that we’re better than this team and we didn’t want to let our fans down on our home court either. So coming out here with a chance to go back to OKC and play a Game 7 I feel like is all the motivation we need.”
Now, the series shifts back to OKC with everything on the line.
Game 7 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday on NBC and Peacock.
The anticipation is already building inside both locker rooms.
“I think a lot of fans are going to be happy,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “This is the best line in sports I believe. We’ll be prepared, take the next 40 hours or whatever it may be to try to get ready, get organized, and get ready to go into a hostile environment against the defending champs in the Western Conference finals.
“For a team that’s done it multiple times and knows exactly what it takes, I would expect to get their best punch. We’re gonna go out with our eyes wide open and expect nothing less.”
Jordan Davis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jordan? He can be reached atjdavis@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @thejordancdavis. Sign up forThe Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Jordan’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Stephon Castle, Wemby looking forward to Spurs-Thunder Game 7 battle
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