Spurs dethrone Thunder to reach NBA Finals against Knicks

AFP | Los Angeles

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The San Antonio Spurs, sparked by superstar Victor Wembanyama, advanced to the NBA Finals by dethroning defending champion Oklahoma City 111-103 on Saturday, booking a championship showdown against New York.

The Spurs captured the bestof-seven Western Conference finals 4-3 to reach the NBA Finals, which begin on Wednesday against the Knicks in San Antonio.

“Though we’re still hungry for one more, this feeling is, I can’t explain it, it’s so powerful,” Wembanyama said. “We want four more. We’re not done. Go Spurs go.”

French 7-foot-4 (2.24m) center Wembanyama scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds,  Julian Champagnie  added 20 points including six three-pointers and Stephon Castle had 16 points for the Spurs, who led the winner-take-all contest almost the entire way.

“We had a good team, a great team,” Champagnie said. “We had to stay the course and play a good game.

“We were passing the ball. We were playing as a team. We come out here and play together.

“We never knew if we were going to get this far but when you’ve got the greatest player in the world things happen.”

That was a nod to Wembanyama, the Most Valuable Player of the Western Conference finals and the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

“It doesn’t mean anything for me other than the fact we are a team,” Wembanyama said of his series MVP award. “I got this for all of us and all the fans right here.” Of his teammates, Wembanyama added, “They don’t even know how much I love them. They are just incredible. Everybody stepped up tonight.”