I have one word for last night. Pandemonium. For 48 minutes, there was no room for error, no cushion, and no second chances. A trip to the NBA Finals hung in the balance as the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder traded blows in one of the most tightly contested Conference Finals Game 7s in recent memory. And with the score separated by just two points at halftime (the closest margin in a Conference Finals Game 7 since 2002), the outcome remained uncertain until the closing stretch.

The Spurs eventually emerged victorious, thumping the Thunder 111-103, powered by Victor Wembanyama’s crowning moment on the biggest stage. He wasn’t alone for this one, though. It took sheer teamwork to render Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s game-high 35 points practically useless. Yet beyond the final score line and all the star performances, several unforgettable moments stole the spotlight and shaped the night’s narrative.

Victor Wembanyama’s elbow goes unchecked; Thunder head coach gets tech

The Spurs were ahead by nine points, cruising 31-22 over OKC, when Wemby basically gave his rivals a taste of their own medicine. With just 40 seconds remaining, he was aggressively entering the paint and caught Thunder big man Isaiah Hartenstein squarely in the face with an elbow. The officials initially whistled Hartenstein for a defensive personal foul. But I-Hart’s reaction on the ground, constantly checking whether his tooth was in place, meant that he was hit with force.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was irate and was heard yelling at one of the refs, “That’s f*****g bull***!”

“You see how upset Daigneault was, he didn’t even need to tell the guys in the back,” the broadcasters called it. “He challenged it right away.”

It was enough to earn the Thunder coach a tech. But regardless, he went for a challenge, and they reversed the initial whistle, officially ruling that Wemby had made illegal contact against Hartenstein.

So, the challenge was successful, and Wemby drew the offensive foul, but the call on Daigneault stood, as fans inside the Paycom Center were livid over what was happening. But there were more such moments…

Fox stepping out of bounds, and the refs not calling!

With the scoreline 40-31 in favor of the Spurs, OKC had another no-call. Fox was dribbling past Alex Caruso, who was trying to tightly guard him on the sideline. But the former’s left foot appeared to step out of bounds, and the officials failed to make that call.

“I saw him right in front of us! he did step out of bounds on the way to the basket for the two,” said the announcer.

In fact, Fox went on to finish that play with a layup, piling on the misery for the Thunder fans. After the play, broadcast cameras captured Fox and Caruso smiling and exchanging words on the court about the non-call. With the no-flagrant call in the first frame and then this in the second quarter, OKC faithful were clearly miffed as they entered halftime with a three-point deficit.

Caruso gives one back to the Spurs

In the second frame itself, with 3:12 remaining, Alex Caruso conceded a turnover. Stephon Castle stole it and passed it to Wemby for a fastbreak give-and-go. The Spurs guard caught it and was ready to dunk the lights out… only for Caruso to push him off. The Thunder veteran pulled him down using both hands, and it was called for a shooting foul. Clearly, Castle was frustrated and needed his teammate to calm him down.

An upset Castle looked ready to ignite and confront Caruso or the officials, but his rookie teammate Dylan Harper immediately sprinted over. Harper wrapped Castle with a calm, protective hug from behind, successfully keeping him grounded and preventing a costly technical foul or retaliation.

“Then Harper made the play look like he would save his teammate, he said, ‘Oh, hold on, hold on, hold on,'” said the announcers, while reviewing the play. “‘Let’s relax a little bit. Let’s not do nothing. He already found they called it.'”

Was it the frustration of being down, or was it because the calls were not in one’s favor? There were plenty of fireworks and hard fouls from both teams.

Victor Wembanyama stole the spotlight

Wemby was the one to open the scoring on Saturday and wanted to continue his Game 6 form of 28 points and 10 rebounds. Similarly, Chet Holmgren, with his step-back jump shot two-pointer, put the Thunder on the board. The big man has struggled this playoffs and has yet to score more than 20 since Round 2 against the Lakers. His struggles continued with a turnover and a driving, floating miss. Then, Wembanyama put the exclamation.

Hartenstein guarded him, but an old-school give-and-go with Fox caught the Thunder star off guard. It led to Wemby attacking the paint and even rising over Holmgren for a monstrous dunk. The French star’s intensity continued even across the third quarter. The game was close by then, with OKC trailing by just three.

But Wemby even posterized two-time MVP SGA to establish a five-point lead. He would go on to lift the West Finals MVP trophy and lead the Spurs to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014.

Wemby, in foul trouble, was still no problem for the Spurs!

With eight minutes left, Victor Wembanyama had five fouls. Naturally, the Spurs’ starting center had to go to the bench to avoid more trouble. San Antonio gave veteran big man Luke Kornet a multi-year deal for this moment. He played only one minute and 45 seconds in the second half of Game 7, after the Thunder cut an 11-point Spurs lead to just six.

Harper conceded a poor turnover, Hartenstein grabbed it at mid-court, and was ready to pounce. But out of nowhere, Luke Kornet chased down the play and met Hartenstein at the apex to cleanly block the shot. Instead of a four-point game, the block led to a Stephon Castle bucket on the other end, creating an immediate swing that broke OKC’s momentum for good.

With his humor, the Spurs backup center even compared it to a LeBron-esque chase-down block from the 2016 Finals. “Someone from the bench yelled, ‘Who is it? LeBron James?’ We’ll see which one has more staying power in the record books of history,” the big man said after the game.

Now, the Spurs, after defeating the #1 team and the current champions, the Thunder, will look to create more history vs the Knicks in the NBA Finals.