Victor Wembanyama dropped an all-time great performance as the San Antonio Spurs beat defending champs Oklahoma City Thunder in double OT 122-115 in game one of the Western Conference finals.
The French phenom dominated on both sides of the court and put up 41 points, 24 rebounds in a historic outing against MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the top-seeded Thunder.
Wembanyama cemented his spectacular night on a thunderous alley-oop slam in the second overtime, which finalized the win for one of the greatest young playoff performances we have seen.
He now becomes the youngest player to ever have a 40-point/20-rebound performance in a playoff game, and only the second player in NBA history, behind Wilt Chamberlain, to do it in their Conference finals debut.
Rookie Dylan Harper dropped 24 points and 11 boards in an outstanding game as the Spurs handed the Thunder their first playoff loss.
Thunder guard Alex Caruso led the Thunder bench with 31 points, while Gilgeous-Alexander was outstanding with 24 points and 12 assists. He had previously received his second consecutive MVP trophy before tipoff.
“It was always going to be a dogfight, ” said Gilgeous-Alexander after the game.
The series continues on Wednesday night in Oklahoma City for game two.
