The Oklahoma City Thunder’s reign at the top of the NBA is over, despite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s best efforts. The defending champion Thunder were knocked out of the playoffs following a 111-103 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center on Saturday.
The Thunder were just playing catch-up for much of the night here, and Gilgeous-Alexander was asked postgame why they weren’t able to wrestle away control of this contest.
“They were just a better team tonight from start to finish,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, via the Thunder. “And then every time we try to cut into it and take control of the game, it felt like they had an answer. And a lot of times it felt like it was tough shot-making, so hats off to them. Yeah, they just played better tonight, and they deserve to win the game.”
As has been the case often in this series, the Spurs threw the first punch in Game 7. They took a 14-point lead in the first quarter by capitalizing on some careless turnovers. The Thunder would then get their act together, with their superstar leading the way.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 13 points in the second quarter as the Thunder started to eat into that deficit. They even took a 53-49 lead in the final minutes of the second, but then allowed the Spurs to end the quarter on a 7-0 run.
The Spurs then pushed their advantage to 11 in the third quarter, but the Thunder came back again, with Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 12 points in the period. The Canadian’s exploits meant the visitors only led 80-77 entering the fourth quarter.
The Spurs had easily been the better team up to that point, and you wondered if they’d regret not putting the Thunder away. This young, inexperienced team didn’t buckle, though. The Spurs threw another haymaker at the Thunder to go up by double-digits in the fourth quarter (went 6-10 from three in the period), and this time, managed to keep them at arm’s length to come away with the win.
The Thunder had looked set to dominate the NBA for years when they won the championship in 2025. The Spurs then emerged as a real threat to them this season and have knocked them out on their first try. This young group isn’t going anywhere either, and Gilgeous-Alexander was asked about them being a potential roadblock for the Thunder in the coming years.
“They’re young, they’re talented, well-coached, play the right way, play together,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Seems like they like each other. They have the makeup for sure. You don’t beat us without the makeup, and they beat us, so they have the makeup to go get one. And yeah, we just have to take it one day at a time from here on out.
“Try to get better this summer and be a better team than we were this season and last season,” Gilgeous-Alexander added. “And yeah, try to get back over the hump.”
It will be interesting to see if this Thunder roster looks drastically different at the start of next season. The one person we know for sure isn’t going anywhere is Gilgeous-Alexander. The 27-year-old put up 35 points (12-21 FG), four rebounds, nine assists, three steals, and one block in Game 7.
Gilgeous-Alexander was by far the Thunder’s best player on the night. The reigning two-time MVP hadn’t had the best of series, but stepped up in his team’s biggest game of the season. Had Gilgeous-Alexander gotten some more help from the likes of Chet Holmgren, who had four points and four rebounds in Game 7, the outcome might have been different.
The Thunder will now watch the NBA Finals like the rest of us, with the Spurs taking on the New York Knicks on the grand stage.
