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The San Antonio Spurs went into Oklahoma City and knocked off the defending champs on their home court in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday.

They’ll play the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, which begin on Wednesday, a rematch of the 1999 Finals – the last time the Knicks had a chance to win the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.

The Spurs outlasted the reigning champions, Oklahoma City Thunder, 111-103 in a tense deciding game.

“Back in October, we knew we had a chance to be pretty good,” said head coach Mitch Johnson after the game to the NBC broadcast. He praised his team for “giving themselves to each other, to the program, and everything that we’ve done. Oklahoma City’s a helluva organization, and what a series.”

He alluded to the youth of his team, in their first playoff run since 2019, when he said it wasn’t experience that got them to the Finals.

“There’s been a lot being talked about, just words like competitiveness, resolve, togetherness, execution. … I don’t give a damn about the word experience,” he said.

Led by Victor Wembanyama, who finished with 22 points and seven rebounds, the Spurs clinched a spot in the Finals for the first time since 2014.

It was the kind of dramatic Game 7 that a classic series deserved – one that saw both teams eke out close wins and run away with blowouts as the Spurs and Thunder established their matchup as the premier rivalry in the NBA right now. The physical, rollicking deciding game in OKC on Saturday showed that it might be the rivalry to watch in the league for years to come.

The Spurs came out of the gates hot, quickly taking a 14-point lead, leaving the raucous Continental Coliseum crowd stunned.

But the Thunder stormed back to briefly take the lead just before halftime behind reigning two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous Alexander’s 13 points in the second quarter.

However, OKC’s momentum did not last as San Antonio surged right back to a double-digit lead behind a 16-2 run in the third quarter led by Julian Champagnie’s six three-pointers.

Like all game long, the Thunder could never be counted out.

SGA clawed the team back into the game, only trailing by three points entering the final quarter.

But San Antonio had an answer for every Thunder response down the stretch, securing the victory.

It has been quite the turnaround for the Spurs, a team that drafted Wembanyama first overall in 2023 and finished 13th in the Western Conference last season.

The 22-year-old Wembanyama was emotional, bursting into tears as the final horn blew and again choking back emotions after being named the Most Valuable Player of the WCF.

The French center said the emotions came from “realizing some part” of his childhood dreams will come true.

“Even though we still have one more, this feeling is – I can’t explain it,” Wembanyama told the NBC broadcast while holding the Earvin “Magic” Johnson Trophy. “It’s so powerful.”

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