Game ID: 42500311
San Antonio Spurs @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Monday, May 18, 2026 at 8:30 PM ET
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT1 OT2 Final
OKC 27 17 29 28 7 7 115SAS 27 24 29 21 7 14 122
OKC vs SAS ScoutingOKC vs SAS Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
OKC availability going into 5/05 · 7 days' restOUT Jal. Williams missed 2 since 4/25, out tonight
BACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/19 after 2, 36 min since (106% of 34)
BACK Holmgren back 4/19 after 2, 30 min since (104% of 29)
BACK Mitchell back 4/19 after 2, 29 min since (111% of 26)
BACK Wallace back 4/19 after 2, 23 min since (86% of 26)
BACK Hartenstein back 4/19 after 2, 24 min since (98% of 24)
BACK Joe back 4/19 after 2, 14 min since (71% of 20)
BACK Caruso back 4/19 after 2, 21 min since (109% of 19)
BACK J. Williams back 4/19 after 2, 13 min since (67% of 19)
OKC availability going into 5/07 · 1 day's restOUT Jal. Williams missed 3 since 4/25, out tonight
BACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/19 after 2, 36 min since (106% of 34)
BACK Holmgren back 4/19 after 2, 30 min since (104% of 29)
BACK Mitchell back 4/19 after 2, 29 min since (110% of 26)
BACK Wallace back 4/19 after 2, 22 min since (83% of 26)
BACK Hartenstein back 4/19 after 2, 24 min since (99% of 24)
BACK Joe back 4/19 after 2, 13 min since (68% of 20)
BACK Caruso back 4/19 after 2, 21 min since (108% of 19)
BACK J. Williams back 4/19 after 2, 14 min since (75% of 19)
OKC availability going into 5/09 · 1 day's restOUT Jal. Williams missed 4 since 4/25, out tonight
OKC availability going into 5/11 · 1 day's restOUT Jal. Williams missed 5 since 4/25, out tonight
OKC availability going into 5/18 · 6 days' restOUT Jal. Williams missed 6 since 4/25, returns tonight: 37 min (137% of 27)
OKC availability going into 5/20 · 1 day's restOUT K. Williams missed 2 since 5/11, out tonight
BACK Jal. Williams back 5/18 after 6, 37 min since (137% of 27)
OKC availability going into 5/22 · 1 day's restOUT K. Williams missed 3 since 5/11, returns tonight: 2 min (11% of 14)
BACK Jal. Williams back 5/18 after 6, 22 min since (82% of 27)
NEW Caruso 19 to 24 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 5/24 · 1 day's restBACK Jal. Williams back 5/18 after 6, 22 min since (82% of 27)
BACK K. Williams back 5/22 after 3, 2 min since (11% of 14)
NEW Gilgeous-Alexande 34 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Caruso 19 to 25 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 5/26 · 1 day's restOUT Jal. Williams missed 2 since 5/22, out tonight
BACK K. Williams back 5/22 after 3, 12 min since (89% of 14)
NEW Gilgeous-Alexande 34 to 39 min over the last 5
SAS availability going into 5/08 · 1 day's rest
full strength
SAS availability going into 5/10 · 1 day's rest
full strength
SAS availability going into 5/12 · 1 day's rest
full strength
SAS availability going into 5/15 · 2 days' rest
full strength
SAS availability going into 5/18 · 2 days' rest
full strength
SAS availability going into 5/20 · 1 day's restNEW Castle 31 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Harper 24 to 29 min over the last 5
SAS availability going into 5/22 · 1 day's restOUT Fox missed 2 since 5/18, returns tonight: 31 min (97% of 32)
NEW Castle 31 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Harper 24 to 30 min over the last 5
SAS availability going into 5/24 · 1 day's restBACK Fox back 5/22 after 2, 31 min since (97% of 32)
NEW Vassell 32 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Castle 31 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Wembanyama 30 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Champagnie 28 to 34 min over the last 5
SAS availability going into 5/26 · 1 day's restBACK Fox back 5/22 after 2, 31 min since (98% of 32)
NEW Vassell 32 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Castle 31 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Wembanyama 30 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Champagnie 28 to 34 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 107, shooting 53 percent and 43 from three, 20 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 26 and Mitchell at 22 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Jal. Williams (6 straight). 6 days' rest. San Antonio comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 105, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 29 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 22 and Castle at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the line, where San Antonio takes 29 free throws a game to OKC's 20 and the arc, OKC at 43 percent from three to San Antonio's 38. Call it OKC 115, San Antonio 114, San Antonio keeping it close.
5/05 vs LAL 108-90 — OKC notes
OKC won 108-90. OKC shot 49% (42 of 85) to LAL's 41%, 13 of 30 from three. Holmgren led with 24 (9 of 17); Gilgeous-Alexander added 18, Mitchell 18. The hinge was Q4, 24-18: a lead of 12 became 18, and the lead reached 21. Caruso was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
5/07 vs LAL 125-107 — OKC notes
OKC won 125-107. OKC shot 56% (45 of 81) to LAL's 50%, 14 of 36 from three. OKC turned it over 12 times to LAL's 20. Holmgren led with 22 (7 of 11, 3 of 5 from three, 5 of 7 at the line); Gilgeous-Alexander added 22, Mitchell 20. The hinge was Q3, 36-22: OKC came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 13, and the lead reached 20. OKC trailed 57-58 at the half and won the second half 68-49. Holmgren was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
5/09 @ LAL 131-108 — OKC notes
OKC won 131-108. OKC shot 56% (53 of 94) to LAL's 47%, 17 of 38 from three, and got to the line 10 times to LAL's 25. OKC turned it over 9 times to LAL's 16. Mitchell led with 24 (10 of 17, 2 of 4 from three); Gilgeous-Alexander added 23, Holmgren 18. The hinge was Q3, 33-20: OKC came in trailing by 2 and left it ahead by 11, and the lead reached 27. OKC trailed 57-59 at the half and won the second half 74-49. Hartenstein was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
5/11 @ LAL 115-110 — OKC notes
OKC won 115-110. OKC shot 52% (42 of 81) to LAL's 51%, 11 of 31 from three. OKC turned it over 11 times to LAL's 19. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 35 (11 of 22, 1 of 4 from three, 12 of 15 at the line); Mitchell added 28, Holmgren 16. The hinge was Q2, 28-19: OKC came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 4. Hartenstein was the night's best plus/minus at +30.
5/18 vs SAS 115-122 — OKC notes
OKC lost 115-122 in 2 overtimes. OKC shot 41% (41 of 101) to SAS's 43%, 17 of 45 from three, and got to the line 19 times to SAS's 29. OKC turned it over 14 times to SAS's 21. The glass went 40-61 against them. Caruso led with 31 (11 of 19, 8 of 14 from three); Jal. Williams added 26, Gilgeous-Alexander 24. Q4 was theirs, 28-21, the deficit cut from 7 to 0, but the other 5 periods went 101-87 against them. Gilgeous-Alexander's -15 in 51 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/20 vs SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 107, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 18 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 24 and Mitchell at 19 a game. One day's rest. San Antonio comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 109, shooting 49 percent and 35 from three, 29 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 26 and Fox at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where San Antonio has been plus-9 a night and OKC minus-3 and the line, where San Antonio takes 29 free throws a game to OKC's 18. Call it OKC 116, San Antonio 113, San Antonio keeping it close.
5/22 @ SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 25 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 22 and Castle at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Fox (2 straight). One day's rest. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 112, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 27 and Mitchell at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest.
So: San Antonio wins, and the game turns on the glass, where San Antonio has been plus-11 a night and OKC minus-4 and the turnovers, San Antonio giving it away 17 times a game to OKC's 11. Call it San Antonio 117, OKC 114, OKC keeping it close.
5/24 @ SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 27 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 27 and Castle at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 12 a night. One day's rest. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 112, shooting 49 percent and 40 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 28 and Caruso at 16 a game. One day's rest.
So: San Antonio wins, and the game turns on the glass, where San Antonio has been plus-12 a night and OKC minus-4 and the turnovers, San Antonio giving it away 17 times a game to OKC's 11. Call it San Antonio 116, OKC 115, OKC keeping it close.
5/26 vs SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 111, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 24 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 27 and Caruso at 14 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Jal. Williams (2 straight). One day's rest. San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 110, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 28 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 28 and Castle at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 11 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where San Antonio has been plus-11 a night and OKC minus-6 and the turnovers, San Antonio giving it away 17 times a game to OKC's 12. Call it OKC 114, San Antonio 113, San Antonio keeping it close.
5/08 @ MIN 115-108 — SAS notes
SAS won 115-108. SAS shot 46% (39 of 85) to MIN's 38%, 12 of 33 from three, and went to the line 33 times to MIN's 21 — 25 points from the stripe to their 18. Wembanyama led with 39 (13 of 18, 3 of 5 from three, 10 of 12 at the line); Fox added 17, Castle 13. The hinge was Q3, 35-28: from level to 7 ahead, and the lead reached 15.
5/10 @ MIN 109-114 — SAS notes
SAS lost 109-114. SAS shot 48% (41 of 86) to MIN's 45%, 6 of 26 from three. Fox led with 24 (8 of 23, 1 of 7 from three, 7 of 10 at the line); Harper added 24, Castle 20. Q3 was theirs, 28-20, turning a 4-point deficit into a 4-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 94-81 against them. Harper's -14 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/12 vs MIN 126-97 — SAS notes
SAS won 126-97. SAS shot 53% (47 of 89) to MIN's 39%, 11 of 32 from three. Wembanyama led with 27 (9 of 16, 2 of 5 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Johnson added 21, Fox 18. The hinge was Q4, 35-24: a lead of 18 became 29. Fox was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
5/15 @ MIN 139-109 — SAS notes
SAS won 139-109. SAS shot 56% (49 of 88) to MIN's 38%, 18 of 38 from three, and went to the line 27 times to MIN's 21 — 23 points from the stripe to their 17. SAS turned it over 15 times to MIN's 5, and MIN turned those into 9 steals. The glass went 60-29 for them. Castle led with 32 (11 of 16, 5 of 7 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Fox added 21, Wembanyama 19. The hinge was Q3, 36-23: a lead of 13 became 26, and the lead reached 37. Champagnie was the night's best plus/minus at +35.
5/18 @ OKC 122-115 — SAS notes
SAS won 122-115 in 2 overtimes. SAS shot 43% (41 of 96) to OKC's 41%, 13 of 43 from three, and went to the line 29 times to OKC's 19 — 27 points from the stripe to their 16. SAS turned it over 21 times to OKC's 14, and OKC turned those into 14 steals. The glass went 61-40 for them. Wembanyama led with 41 (14 of 25, 12 of 13 at the line); Harper added 24, Castle 17. The hinge was Q2, 24-17: from level to 7 ahead. Wembanyama was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
5/20 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 107, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 18 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 24 and Mitchell at 19 a game. One day's rest. San Antonio comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 109, shooting 49 percent and 35 from three, 29 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 26 and Fox at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where San Antonio has been plus-9 a night and OKC minus-3 and the line, where San Antonio takes 29 free throws a game to OKC's 18. Call it OKC 116, San Antonio 113, San Antonio keeping it close.
5/22 vs OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 25 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 22 and Castle at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Fox (2 straight). One day's rest. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 112, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 27 and Mitchell at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest.
So: San Antonio wins, and the game turns on the glass, where San Antonio has been plus-11 a night and OKC minus-4 and the turnovers, San Antonio giving it away 17 times a game to OKC's 11. Call it San Antonio 117, OKC 114, OKC keeping it close.
5/24 vs OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 27 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 27 and Castle at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 12 a night. One day's rest. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 112, shooting 49 percent and 40 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 28 and Caruso at 16 a game. One day's rest.
So: San Antonio wins, and the game turns on the glass, where San Antonio has been plus-12 a night and OKC minus-4 and the turnovers, San Antonio giving it away 17 times a game to OKC's 11. Call it San Antonio 116, OKC 115, OKC keeping it close.
5/26 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 111, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 24 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 27 and Caruso at 14 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Jal. Williams (2 straight). One day's rest. San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 110, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 28 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 28 and Castle at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 11 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where San Antonio has been plus-11 a night and OKC minus-6 and the turnovers, San Antonio giving it away 17 times a game to OKC's 12. Call it OKC 114, San Antonio 113, San Antonio keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
SASCB C. Bryant
DH D. Harper
DV D. Vassell
HB H. Barnes
JC J. Champagnie
KJ K. Johnson
LK L. Kornet
SC S. Castle
VW V. Wembanyama
OKCAC A. Caruso
AM A. Mitchell
AW A. Wiggins
CH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
IH I. Hartenstein
JM J. McCain
JW J. Williams
JW Jal. Williams
LD L. Dort
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
SAS/OKC the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Wembanyama has 41 points, 24 rebounds and Spurs top Thunder 122-115 in 2OT to open West finals
OKLAHOMA CITY -- — Victor Wembanyama had 41 points and 24 rebounds, Dylan Harper finished with 24 points and a team playoff-record seven steals, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-115 in a double-overtime classic to open the Western Conference finals Monday night.
Wembanyama sealed it with a pair of dunks in the final minute, one of them leading to a three-point play as the Spurs stole home-court advantage and beat the Thunder for the fifth time in six meetings this season.
Stephon Castle had 17 points, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson each scored 13 and Julian Champagnie added 11 for the Spurs, who were without De’Aaron Fox because of ankle stiffness.
“A great effort — from everybody,” said Wembanyama, who, at 22 years, 134 days, became the youngest player with at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was 22 years, 343 days when he had a 40/20 game in the 1970 NBA Finals.
Alex Caruso scored 31 points, the second-highest scoring game of his career, off the bench for the Thunder — whose nine-game playoff winning streak dating to Game 7 of last season's Finals was snapped.
Jalen Williams returned from a six-game absence caused by a hamstring strain and scored 26 points for the Thunder, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — on the night he got his second straight Most Valuable Player trophy — had 24 points and 12 assists but shot 7 for 23.
It was the sixth Game 1 in NBA playoff history to go into double overtime — the first since a Spurs-Warriors game in 2013.
And as the clock ticked toward midnight, Wembanyama decided enough was enough.
Game 2 is Wednesday at Oklahoma City.
“It was a war of wills,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “The levels of mental toughness exuded by both teams ... we needed every second from everybody that played.”
The Spurs were up by 10 with 9:10 left in regulation, wasted it all, then survived a frantic final stretch where the lead changed hands twice and the game was tied three times in a span of less than two minutes.
Wembanyama had an off-balance chance to win it on the last play of regulation, but Chet Holmgren swatted it away. In overtime, Wembanyama more than atoned — connecting on a tying 3-pointer from well behind the arc with 28 seconds left to tie the game and send it to a second OT.
“We have to get better from this game,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
Gilgeous-Alexander had his worst first half, shooting-wise, in nearly three years — 1 for 5 from the field, four points. It was the first time since Oct. 29, 2023, a span of 270 appearances including playoffs, that he didn't have at least two field goals before halftime.
Meanwhile, Wembanyama was doing whatever he wanted — dunking over trios of defenders, flexing at times, finishing the half with 14 points and 10 rebounds, looking perfectly comfortable in his debut on this stage.
And the Spurs' lead was only seven at the break, 51-44.
Gilgeous-Alexander got a couple shots to fall in the third, and the Thunder even briefly reclaimed the lead. But the Spurs were unfazed and the margin was still seven. San Antonio was ahead 80-73 going into the fourth.