What a debut! Victor Wembanyama had a giant game with 41 points and a decisive finish after two overtimes to snatch the opening victory of the Western Conference Finals with the Spurs on the Thunder's home court on Monday.

The highly anticipated clash between the two best teams of the regular season opened the Western Conference Finals in spectacular fashion, with a 122-115 victory for the San Antonio Spurs on the court of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the defending champion, ahead of Game 2 on Wednesday, also in Oklahoma.

Rising to the occasion, Victor Wembanyama delivered an exceptional performance, finishing with 41 points, 24 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks, including the game-winner with 15 seconds left in the second overtime period to seal the victory and hand OKC their first loss of the playoffs. No player had ever scored at least 40 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in their first conference finals game, with the exception of the legendary Wilt Chamberlain.

The 22-year-old Frenchman is playing in his first playoffs, like all of the Spurs' starters on Monday night, who have an average age of under 23, after the late withdrawal of point guard De'Aaron Fox, who was injured in the ankle.

"I think we compensate for our lack of experience with the desire to win. We play with intensity, without letting up, it's not more complicated than that," Wembanyama said at a press conference.

- "We have a chance" -

"We want to win everything and we're lucky to have a franchise that knows how to do it. We can see that they've brought together the right people. We have a chance (of a title, editor's note) even if we still have a long way to go."

Having finished third in the MVP race, the results of which were revealed Sunday night, "Wemby" attended the presentation of his second Michael Jordan trophy to Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just before kickoff.

"It shows that I still have a lot to learn, and I want to win this trophy many times during my career," Wembanyama said ambitiously.

An extra motivation that he was able to pass on to his teammates, who contained "SGA" like rarely before, limited to 24 points (7 of 23 shooting) and 12 assists in 51 minutes, the Spurs making the Thunder taste its own poison: a suffocating defense.

The game proved to be breathless from start to finish, with the gap never exceeding 10 points in 58 minutes, and both teams needing two overtime periods to separate them.

Often slightly ahead, the Spurs led 51-44 at halftime, limiting "SGA" to 4 points.

The Thunder managed to hold on thanks to an exceptional night from Alex Caruso on the field, scoring 31 points on 8 of 14 from three.

- "Wemby" equalizes from long range in extra time -

Wembanyama committed an offensive foul on Caruso that could have been costly with 2 minutes left on the clock, just before the two-time NBA champion (2020 and 2025) fired another three-pointer to give the Thunder the lead.

A floater from the Frenchman with eleven seconds left gave the lead before a response from Gilgeous-Alexander on the drive for a first overtime (101-101), "Wemby" being blocked by Chet Holmgren at the buzzer.

"The alien" scored following an offensive rebound at the start of overtime, reflecting his exceptional game in this category (9, as many as the entire Thunder), but SGA allowed the home team to take a three-point lead.

The Frenchman equalized with a crazy long-range shot to force a second overtime (108-108) which he totally dominated, scoring nine points, with two dunks and accurate free throws (12 out of 13 in total).

San Antonio also benefited from the dazzling rookie Dylan Harper (24 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 7 steals), who started in place of Fox, and from Stephon Castle (17 points, 11 assists), rookie of the year in 2025.

Despite the defeat, the Thunder were able to appreciate the return from injury of Jalen Williams, who scored 26 points, while Chet Holmgren was far too discreet (8 points, 8 rebounds).