The San Antonio Spurs are not done. With elimination one bucket away, Victor Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox and Keldon Vassell carried the Spurs past the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday night, dragging the series back to OKC for a winner-take-all Game 7.
It was Fox who finished as the broadcast'+chr(39)+'s player of the game, an honour he earned with 51 points and a refusal to flinch when the Thunder closed the gap in the final minute. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league'+chr(39)+'s back-to-back MVP, kept Oklahoma City within striking distance with 15 points in the second half — including a step-back jumper inside the final minute that pulled the Thunder within two — but every time the visitors scored, Fox or Wembanyama answered.
The defining moment came in the fourth quarter, when Wembanyama posterised Isaiah Hartenstein with a left-handed hammer. TNT analyst Greg Anthony framed it as a signature moment in real time.
"If Wemby wants to be one of the greats, this is where he will be judged," Anthony said on the call. "And what a big shot to add to his resume."
Wembanyama, who has shouldered the Spurs'+chr(39)+' defensive identity since arriving in 2023, set the franchise'+chr(39)+'s single-game postseason scoring record in the win — a number worth filing away given Tim Duncan and David Robinson once wore the uniform. He followed the Hartenstein dunk with a step-back three from the wing and another bucket on the corner.
"He'+chr(39)+'s on a tear offensively, lighting up the scoreboard with a purpose," lead announcer Kevin Harlan added as Wembanyama drained the second three.
Keldon Vassell was the third star. The veteran wing scored eight in the fourth and answered every Thunder push from the corner and the wing. Vassell hit the first field goal of the quarter from the wing, then later buried a wide-open jumper after a Hartenstein gamble, then finished a slick feed from Julian Champagnie on a back-cut.
"The growth of Vassell has been so impressive, willing and ready to bury these important shots," Anthony noted.
Oklahoma City did not collapse. Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren hunted threes early. Jalen Williams strung together a defensive stand that stopped Vassell on the very next possession. And Gilgeous-Alexander — who has eaten criticism this series for not playing at his usual MVP level — kept threading drives through Vassell, Wembanyama and rookie guard Stephon Castle to keep the Thunder within reach.
In the end, the difference was Fox'+chr(39)+'s heat in the final two minutes. With the shot clock at five and the Thunder having just trimmed it to two, Fox stepped back, fired, and another one fell.
"That gives him 51," Harlan said. "Making it look easy."
Mark Daigneault called timeout. The next possession went San Antonio'+chr(39)+'s way.
After the buzzer, Anthony pointed to the body language: "They played with a little more of a relaxed demeanor tonight, knowing this was it, now or never. And their season continues because of that."
Game 7 will be played at Paycom Center, where the Thunder are 8-1 in the playoffs and have hammered home-court advantage since the second round. But Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson now has a roadmap: switch Vassell in for added shooting late, give Wembanyama touches deep in the post once his legs are under him, and lean on Fox when the shot clock runs down.
For Wembanyama personally, Game 6 was the answer Spurs fans needed after he was 4-of-15 in Game 5 and skipped his post-game media session. For the Thunder, it is a reminder that holding serve isn'+chr(39)+'t quite the same as breaking it. The defending champions still get one home game to advance — but San Antonio, against the odds, has earned its way to Game 7.
