Category: Basketball

Oklahoma City Thunder (64-18, first in the Western Conference) vs. San Antonio Spurs (62-20, second in the Western Conference)

San Antonio; Friday, 8:30 p.m. EDT

LINE: Spurs -1.5; over/under is 215.5

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Series tied 1-1

BOTTOM LINE: The Oklahoma City Thunder visit the San Antonio Spurs for game three of the Western Conference finals with the series tied 1-1. The Thunder defeated the Spurs 122-113 in the last matchup on Thursday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 30 points, and Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 25.

The Spurs are 36-16 in Western Conference games. San Antonio is second in the Western Conference scoring 119.8 points while shooting 48.3% from the field.

The Thunder are 41-11 in conference games. Oklahoma City scores 119.0 points and has outscored opponents by 11.1 points per game.

The 119.8 points per game the Spurs average are 11.9 more points than the Thunder give up (107.9). The Thunder average 13.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.8 more makes per game than the Spurs allow.

TOP PERFORMERS: Castle is shooting 47.1% and averaging 16.6 points for the Spurs. Victor Wembanyama is averaging 22.5 points over the last 10 games.

Gilgeous-Alexander is scoring 31.1 points per game and averaging 4.3 rebounds for the Thunder. Alex Caruso is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Spurs: 7-3, averaging 118.7 points, 48.9 rebounds, 25.5 assists, 8.3 steals and 8.5 blocks per game while shooting 49.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.2 points per game.

Thunder: 9-1, averaging 120.7 points, 41.0 rebounds, 26.6 assists, 11.0 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 49.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.2 points.

INJURIES: Spurs: David Jones Garcia: out for season (ankle), De'Aaron Fox: out (ankle), Dylan Harper: day to day (leg).

Thunder: Jalen Williams: day to day (hamstring), Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The 2026 Western Conference finals are all knotted up.

The Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, May 20 in Game 2, 122-113, as the series now heads to San Antonio.

Two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander bounced back with a 30-point, 9-assist game after he had struggled with double-teams and inefficiency in the series opener.

On the other side of that, Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama (21 points, 17 rebounds) appeared to wear down late in the game, as Oklahoma City ramped up its physicality against him.

Here are takeaways from Game 2 of the Western Conference finals:

The Spurs will have to settle for a split after two games in Oklahoma City. Despite doing a good job of keeping the game close and giving themselves a chance to win, fatigue and an injury to Dylan Harper that depleted their depth even more were too much to overcome against an opponent that found contributions from multiple sources. After the 122-113 loss, the series is tied at one heading to San Antonio.

The intensity from Game 1 didn’t go anywhere. The start of the second matchup of the series featured the physicality and shot-making that created the instant classic series opener, but the fatigue from that long battle began to affect the action. Both coaches rested their stars earlier than usual and tried to have their benches sop up minutes. The Spurs had Castle carry the lineup when Harper and Wembanyama rested, but while the second-year guard scored, he was also turnover-prone once again. The lack of ball handling caused by De’Aaron Fox’s injury was palpable and led to some surprising Jordan McLaughlin minutes. Despite San Antonio not playing as well as they could when some of their top guys were off the floor, the opening quarter was up-and-down, with lots of lead changes, and ended tied.

While neither team could break the parity earlier, the Thunder had one of their typical run fueled by turnovers caused that allowed them to create a buffer. Great drives by San Antonio’s guards, including a thunderous dunk by Castle, kept the offense alive for the Silver and Black, and their commitment to playing strong defense and running whenever possible prevented the lead from ballooning. But Oklahoma City looked in control. Foul trouble for Wembanyama, who was getting mauled by Isaiah Hartenstein with few calls to show for it, along with the fatigue that often showed itself from the shallower team, allowed the home team to get better looks while forcing tough ones on the other end. There were some good individual stretches, but the Spurs just couldn’t find fluidity on offense, and their defense showed cracks. At the break, the Thunder were up just 11 points, but the lead felt larger.

After such a long Game 1, trailing on the road and with the split not being a bad result, the Spurs could have folded in the third. They refused to and were aided by Jalen Williams exiting with injury after the first quarter and not returning, and Hartenstein getting into foul trouble. San Antonio was in attack more, with Wembanyama taking over the game on both ends to erase the deficit quickly. Another win seemed possible but, alas, Dylan Harper had to exit the game with an injury and couldn’t return, which really limited the Silver and Black’s options on offense. Meanwhile, on the other end, Chet Holmgren came alive during a stretch in which Wembanyama was resting, and then Mitch Johnson tried a zone that was successful in Game 1, but the Thunder had figured it out by Game 2. The Spurs dropped 37 points in the frame, but their opponent had 34 to remain in the driver’s seat heading into the final frame.

It was clear Wembanyama would need to be on the floor for the entire period for San Antonio to have a chance, as nothing else worked on defense. He started strong, making some plays along with Stephon Castle, which provided a reason for optimism for the Silver and Black faithful. Unfortunately, he started to fade after spending most of the game battling with a big, physical defender who focused almost exclusively on tiring him out. The Thunder started to feast on the offensive glass, and their role players came up big in important moments. There were small runs, largely fueled by three-pointers, but the Spurs simply didn’t have enough contributors to get over the hump. The deeper Oklahoma City team was more prepared to survive a high-paced game that at times resembled a wrestling match and came up on top to tie the series heading to San Antonio.

Game notes

• The Thunder switched strategies and, as mentioned, had Hartenstein guarding Wembanyama for most of the game. In part because of how physical he was allowed to be by the officials, Harstentein held his own and really tired Wembanyama out to the point where he was not a factor late in the game. After the game, Mark Daigneault said they might give Wemby different looks, but if the officiating is lenient, they could get away with the matchup, which is big for an OKC team that might be without Jalen Williams.
• Harper was having a terrific game before he had to exit in the third quarter. He attempted to return to the game, but the staff sent him back to the locker room. Hopefully, it won’t be a major injury, and the same goes for J-Dub.
• Stephon Castle had 25 points, five rebounds, and eight assists. He also had nine turnovers after logging 11 in Game 1 and missed five of his six threes for the second time in a row. Shooting and decision-making are Castle’s weaknesses, which are only getting magnified by the absence of Fox, who made up for them in the starting lineup. He still defends hard and scores, but Mitch Johnson will have to find another way to run the offense if the other two guards are out, because such a big role is limiting the positive impact Castle normally makes.
• Devin Vassell had a fantastic game. He provided scoring, helped on the glass, and defended well. His outside shooting was crucial, as Julian Champagnie made just one of his seven attempts, and the starting guards did most of their damage in the paint.
• The bench was atrocious, and it’s a major reason the Spurs lost. The second unit was outscored 57-25, and some Thunder’s role guys like Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace also made major plays on defense. It’s tempting to question whether it was a good idea for Mitch Johnson to play his starters so much for the second game in a row, but he just didn’t have an option if he wanted to keep the game close. San Antonio needs to get healthy, or this could be an unsolvable problem.

Play of the game

One of the most vicious dunks of the season.

Game 3: at San Antonio on Friday

Both teams would surely love an extra day of rest after those two games, but they are out of luck.

 The Western Conference Finals are at a stalemate thanks to chronic turnovers by the San Antonio Spurs. On top of that, Chet Holmgren finally showed up to the series, and OKC’s bench scored an abundance of relief points, which included Alex Caruso shooting like prime Klay Thompson. The series will now shift to San Antonio.

The Spurs never fell into a big crater (only 13 points), yet that deficit might as well be twice that with how desperate and physical the Thunder were playing. Victor Wembanyama was not the leading scorer this time (21 points, 17 rebounds, six assists) but his rim protection had opposing players seeing ghosts, rushing shots and trying to sell calls. But despite valiant efforts and multiple moments in which the deficit was cut to one possession, there wasn’t enough enough disruption at the arc, and the offense wasn’t flowing the same after Dylan Harper left with a leg injury in the third quarter.

Observations

• There was no slow build up as the first quarter had a combined 62 points scored and 13 lead changes.
• The difference in the game was one side having a slight edge at key moments in 1. showing and recovering on screen rolls, 2. trapping the ball, and 3. limiting transition scoring. Additionally, OKC was able to force enough stops, even with the Spurs roaring back, without Jalen Williams, who only played seven minutes because he re-aggravated his hamstring injury. 
• OKC started two bigs again, and tried to get physical with Wemby, but it only resulted in two fouls in fewer than four minutes for Isaiah Hartenstein. It didn’t limit his defensive aggression because he was holding when the refs weren’t looking (?), which even drew the attention of the broadcast. Wemby subsequently went back at him early in the second half, forcing his fourth foul and putting him on the bench, which gave the Spurs a size advantage. 
• Devin Vassell got most of the minutes on defense against Chet Holmgren in the opener. He was a pest once more as the team’s third-best player. He made 85.7 percent of his shots in the second half.
• Dylan Harper started again for De’Aaron Fox (ankle), and was a big factor pressuring the ball and organizing the offense. He plays more in control than Castle, granted with a lower usage. One would have suggested making him the primary ball handler while Fox remains out, but now his status is in question after getting tangled up when chasing a rebound.
• It was an embarrassing performance in Game 1 for Shai Gilgeous Alexander by his standards, so naturally, he was more accurate, and did a better job of getting free on the dribble. He finished with 30 points on 50 percent shooting, with nine assists and four rebounds.
• A good chunk of Castle’s turnovers are passes and drives into traffic. Yet the last one late in the fourth after macho man Keldon Johnson recovered the biggest offensive rebound of the game, was one of the last nails in the coffin. The turnovers would be more magnified if he wasn’t playing on such a great team, and maybe he’d be catching heat like James Harden. 
• The team’s substitution patterns for Wemby were part of the reason OKC went ahead by double figures in the first half, aside from turnovers causing them to take five fewer shots. It’s understandable to want to preserve Wembanyama, but trust this: healthy, great players can log big playoff minutes. Think about how he didn’t even look gassed after 49 minutes in Game 1. He did that because he’s a world-class athlete who can put his foot on the gas and keep it there at any time, for a long time. 

Dylan Harper left Game 2 of the Western Conference finals in the third quarter on Wednesday, May 20.

The San Antonio Spurs rookie was shown on the NBC broadcast walking into the locker room after he fell to the court while wrestling a rebound from Chet Holmgren, who was called for a foul on the play. He trotted out of the tunnel, NBC reported, because someone thought the Spurs were in the bonus and he was needed to shoot free throws. But he was redirected back to the locker room for further evaluation and never returned.

According to the Spurs, Harper suffered a "right leg" injury.

Head coach Mitch Johnson was asked about Harper's status after the Oklahoma City Thunder won the game, 122-113.

"I have not had an update,” he told the media. “I just know he went out when he took an awkward landing — I don’t know if I guess he fell — but that awkward landing and I just heard he wasn’t coming back. I haven’t gotten an update yet.”

Dylan Harper wants to get back on the court, but the Spurs' staff tells him to get back towards the locker room. https://t.co/LellHDdzZRpic.twitter.com/bconqPP4M6

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) May 21, 2026

Just a few plays before the foul, Harper landed awkwardly while attempting a layup that was swatted by MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He grabbed his right hamstring and grimaced in pain.

Dylan Harper has gone to the locker room after grabbing his right hamstring @ProFootballDocpic.twitter.com/4m0yzvX6Au

— Sports Injury Central (@SICscore) May 21, 2026

The Thunder also have a player dealing with a hamstring issue. Jalen Williams seemed to reaggravate his left hamstring and left the matchup in the first quarter.

Harper ended with 12 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. He had a historic outing in Game 1 where he notched 24 points, 11 boards, 6 assists and 7 steals. At 20 years old, he is the youngest player to record a 4x5 in an NBA playoff game.

This story has been updated with new information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dylan Harper injury update, status for Spurs vs Thunder Game 2

A day later, Kenny Atkinson remained firmly in James Harden’s corner. 

No second-guessing his decision to stick with the veteran despite his issues defending Jalen Brunson in the Knicks’ wild comeback from 22 points down to win the opener of the Eastern Conference finals. 

“One thing about James: I’ll just defend him,” the Cavaliers coach said Wednesday. “He’s a good isolation defender, always has been. He’s super smart. I said it [Tuesday] night, he has great hands.”

In fact, Atkinson was far more disappointed with Cleveland’s team defense — or lack thereof. Time and again, the Knicks targeted Harden in the pick-and-roll to get him to switch on to Brunson, and the superstar guard torched the Cavaliers for 17 of his 38 points in the final 12:39 of regulation and overtime.

In the fourth quarter, the Knicks were able to get Harden to switch on to Brunson for nine isolations that averaged 1.9 points per action, according to the “All NBA Podcast.” In a stretch when Brunson scored 11 straight Knicks points to cap an 18-1 burst, Harden was the primary defender. 

“[Brunson] hit two or three really tough shots on him, but the baseline drive [that tied the game with 19.3 seconds remaining in regulation] where our low guy didn’t come over and get a contest, that is team defense. At this level, it’s team defense,” Atkinson said. “Sure, everybody’s putting it on James. A lot of it’s on the team, our team defense. … Sure, some of it was him, there were a couple of blow-byes. But again, I’d argue it was the team defense, too.” 

On a few occasions, the Cavaliers blitzed Brunson to get the ball out of his hands, but it resulted in open shots for other Knicks, which was also a major part of the comeback. 

It has been an inconsistent postseason for Harden. While he is averaging 19.7 points and six assists, he is only shooting 31.8 percent from 3-point range on 7.1 attempts. He has also accounted for more turnovers than field goals in six different playoff games, including the series opener. 

But Atkinson has vehemently defended him throughout, speaking to Harden recently about his belief in him.

“Without you, we’re knocked out in the first round,” the coach told him. “We’re in a great position, you’ve played great. Sometimes micro experiences get exaggerated. Keep being yourself.” 

Kenny Atkinson called it “devastating.”

No, not Tuesday’s Eastern Conference finals opener, in which his Cavaliers blew a 22-point fourth quarter lead to the Knicks.

He was referring to Game 6 of the opening round, specifically RJ Barrett’s game-winning 3-pointer that bounced off the back rim and dropped in, forcing a Game 7. 

The point: Heartbreak isn’t new to this group of Cavaliers. They are well-versed in adversity, having survived two elimination games to get to this point. 

“We’ve been through it in the playoffs,” the Cavaliers coach said Wednesday after a walk-through inside the Garden. “I’m more like, ‘OK, here it is. This is what it’s about.’ You live between misery and awesomeness in the playoffs, and this is of course misery. But this is probably the fourth miserable game we’ve had in the playoffs. It’s like, ‘OK, get back on the horse.’ ”

Atkinson wasn’t trying to diminish the pain of the setback, and nor were his players.

The Cavaliers were in position to take home-court advantage, dominating the Knicks for three-plus quarters. MSG was quiet. The home team looked rusty. 

Then, everything went wrong for the visitors. 

“We gave them a game,” reserve guard Dennis Schröder said. “At the end of the day, we controlled the game — I think 90 percent of the game we controlled it. The last 10 percent, they did a great job. You have to give them credit, too, for not giving up and making shots at the end, and that was the game.” 

There was a lot to like before the collapse at both ends of the floor. Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points on 11-for-17 shooting in the first three quarters. Big men Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley were giving the Knicks fits. Cleveland didn’t look like such a big underdog. 

“I want to lean on the positive,” Atkinson said. “We had three quarters of really good basketball — some of the best basketball we’ve honestly played in the playoffs, offensively and defensively.”

The hope for the Cavaliers is their experiences throughout this postseason will help them Thursday and beyond. This is a team that shook off the Barrett shot, that rallied from a 2-0 deficit to take down the top-seeded Pistons in the Eastern Conference semifinals and win Game 7 in Detroit in emphatic fashion. 

“Just understanding that we didn’t have the best effort last night, we didn’t have the best outcome,” Allen said, “and the resiliency is going to show [Thursday] how we come out. 

“Just have confidence in yourself and the team, and know that we have to go get one [in Game 2].”

Jalen Williams left the game in the first quarter of Game 2 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday, May 20 and did not return due to a hamstring injury.

The Oklahoma City Thunder forward was in the starting lineup for the matchup against the San Antonio Spurs but only played seven minutes before he was sidelined. Cason Wallace took his place.

ESPN NBA reporter Tim MacMahon said on X that Williams was "getting treatment on his left hamstring." The NBC broadcast also reported the news and showed Williams walking into the locker room with his hamstring wrapped in ice.

Head coach Mark Daigneault spoke to the media after the Thunder's 122-113 win and addressed Williams' injury.

“He’s going to get checked out,” he said. “I don’t deal in hypotheticals, especially when doctors are involved. I just let them tell us what’s going on, so he’ll get checked out in the morning, we’ll see where he’s at, we’ll update accordingly.”

Williams had 4 points and 2 steals in the game, which evened the series.

Jalen Williams heads to the locker room due to left hamstring injury pic.twitter.com/xmpEOdRkB5

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) May 21, 2026

Williams suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain in Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs, where the Thunder swept the Phoenix Suns. He sat out six games before returning in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Spurs.

We witnessed one of the greatest postseason slams of all-time as San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle rose up and put Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein on a poster during Game 2 of the Western Conference finals on May 20.

Castle drove the basket with 8:19 remaining in the second quarter and the Spurs trailed 43-39 as they were building momentum to climb back from a deficit.

The lane opened up. Castle took off before he posterized Hartenstein.

The NBA has announced the 2025-26 All-Rookie Team and it's headlined by former Duke teammates Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg, the league's Rookie of the Year.

The accolade is reserved for the 10 best first-year players in the league during the 2025-26 regular season.

It's comprised of prospects who, in their first year, made an impact on the floor that was felt around the league. These players are projected to be the future of the league, whether as superstars or vital role players.

The All-Rookie First Team includes: Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg, San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper, Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel, Philadelphia 76ers forward VJ Edgecombe and Memphis Grizzlies guard Cedric Coward.

Flagg, Knueppel and Edgecombe each racked up 100 first-place votes.

The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder’s matchup in the 2026 Western Conference Finals is destined to go down as an all-timer. Game 1 was a double-overtime instant classic that saw the Spurs take control with an incredible performance from Victor Wembanyama, including a logo three-pointer to tie the game from Steph Curry range. How can Game 2 live up to its predecessor? Well, San Antonio guard Stephon Castle did his best by dropping one of the best dunks you will ever seen in the NBA Playoffs.

During the second quarter, Castle took a kickout pass from Wembanyama and attacked the paint with force. He sized up Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein and ripped a vicious tomahawk slam on his head. Poster dunks don’t get any better than this. Watch the play here:

Castle doesn’t have a reliable jump shot, he’s battled turnover problems throughout his career (with 11 in Game 1), and his handle can be shaky. It doesn’t matter because he plays with so much damn force on both ends of the floor, and he put it all on display with this dunk.

Wembanyama isn’t the only young stud on the Spurs. Castle is a great young player, and he’s proving it in this series.

Jalen Brunson has brought the best out of Madison Square Garden in the past four years, inspiring its loudest and most frequent pops.

Josh Hart isn’t far behind, doing it in a different way, doing it in so many ways, born from never-ending hustle and never-questioned passion. 

But Hart was a spectator to the greatest postseason comeback in Knicks history, watching the 22-point rally in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals with a T-shirt over his jersey and a towel over his shoulders after being benched in the fourth quarter and overtime for Landry Shamet.


“That’s always difficult, watching it on the bench,” Hart said after Wednesday’s practice. “Obviously, I want to be out there. I want to help my guys win, but at the end of the day, for me, I don’t have an ego to it. I approach this game with extreme humility.

“I’m here to serve these guys … [to] make sure they’re in the best position to be successful. I put the success of the team over the success of myself any day.”


Hart’s enthusiasm was evident as he stood alongside his teammates on the sideline, celebrating each of Shamet’s 3-pointers that allowed the Knicks to claim the historic victory.



Mike Brown had little choice but to emphasize shooting and spacing after Hart badly missed multiple 3-pointers (1-for-5) — and posted a team-worst minus-23 rating — while Cleveland left him open on the perimeter.

Shamet made each of his three 3-pointers, finishing with a team-best plus-20 rating.
Hart, who shot a career-best 41.3 percent of 3-pointers this season, has only gone 26.7 percent in the playoffs, and anticipates the Cavaliers again daring him to beat them from deep.

“For them, this is the same game plan that put them up [22]. … So they’re probably gonna do the exact same thing,” Hart said. “I’m gonna shoot the exact same shots. I’m gonna shoot it with confidence, play my game.

“I shot good shots. I just didn’t make them … I’m gonna continue to shoot. I’m working incredibly hard on my shots.” 

Hart was back at it during Wednesday’s practice, taking numerous corner 3-pointers in the brief window open to the media.

At one point, he hit eight straight. Six touched nothing but net. The other two barely nudged iron before falling through.



Game 2 will be different from a day at the driving range, but Brown expects Hart’s impact to be felt again, just as Mikal Bridges’ benching in the first round led to him becoming one of the most impactful players in the postseason.

“When you are in the position that Josh was in or Mikal was in in the Atlanta series … they sacrificed their minutes willingly and they were great about it while keeping themselves ready,” Brown said. “Mikal was fantastic … and I don’t see anything different from Josh going forward.”