Published May 25, 2026
Victor Wembaneyama scored 33 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 103-82 victory over Oklahoma City, tying the NBA Western Conference Finals at two games apiece.
The 22-year-old French 7-foot-4 center made 11-of-22 shots from the floor and 3-of-7 3-pointers in 31 minutes against the Spurs on Sunday, along with eight rebounds, five assists, three blocked shots and two steals.
“We need to find ways to impact the game in many areas,” Wenbanyama said. “I have a lot of responsibility, but that’s what I’m here for. We’re all going to have to do things we didn’t sign up for.”
Host San Antonio is tied at 2-2 in the best-of-seven playoff series with Game 5 in Oklahoma City on Tuesday and Game 6 in San Antonio on Thursday.
“It was the first time we conceded a goal in a playoff series, and we just responded,” Wembaneyama said. “Nothing was surprising. It wasn’t magic. We just did what we had to do. The series isn’t over yet.”
Wembaneyama knows what the Spurs have to do to win an NBA title.
“We need six more wins before we rest,” he said.
The Spurs are aiming to advance to the Finals for the first time since winning the championship in 2014, and the Thunder are aiming to become the first NBA champions since Golden State in 2017-2018.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said Wembangyama actively tried to keep San Antonio out of a 3-1 series hole.
“We’ve been very competitive all year, and he’s been at the forefront of that,” Johnson said.
“Tonight, he felt an obligation to set the tone for us in a lot of different ways, and being aggressive was a reflection of that. … I think he wants that responsibility. He’s built for that responsibility.”
The Thunder were undefeated on the road in this year’s playoffs, but their attempts to reach 6-0 were foiled by a strong defensive effort from the Spurs.
“Anytime we can convert defense into offense, turnovers, rebounds, that’s when we’re at our best,” Johnson said.
“We can go out and run and make plays and pick up the pace. What we did tonight was great and we’re going to have to get better as the series goes on.”
The Spurs extended their lead to 25 points, but the Thunder only led by one point.
“I won’t go into details, but in general it’s about being more disciplined and trusting the game plan more,” Wembaneyama said of the secret to the Spurs’ defensive effort.
The NBA Defensive Player of the Year also cited defensive cohesion as the Spurs forced 17 turnovers and had 11 steals.
“That’s very important,” Wenbanyama said. “We have good individual defenders and when they connect they can keep the team low scoring.”
NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 19 points.
This season, Oklahoma City won 64 games, the most in the NBA, and the Spurs were second with 62 wins.
Wenbanyama sank a half-court shot at the buzzer, the longest goal-and-goal of his career, giving the Spurs a 50-38 halftime lead and 22 points in the first half.
“All I was thinking about was making shots and scoring,” Wenbanyama said. “I wasn’t kidding.”
The Spurs opened the third quarter on a 15-5 run to take their largest lead at the time, 65-43, but Oklahoma City was unable to catch San Antonio from there.
“We needed that momentum going into the second half,” San Antonio’s Devin Vassell said of the half-court “Wemby” hoop.
Vassell and Stephon Castle each had 13 points for the Spurs, and De’Aaron Fox had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
