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NBA playoff takeaways: Victor Wembanyama making his case as the real MVP

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This playoff run has been a series of firsts for the San Antonio Spurs.

Thursday, May 28 presented yet another: this is the first time this young Spurs core is facing elimination in the postseason.

The Spurs are hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals in a must-win situation, as San Antonio is looking to knot the series up a three games apiece to force a Game 7.

All eyes are on the two stars in the series, Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the two-time consecutive Most Valuable Player, of the Thunder.

Here are live takeaways from Game 6 of the Western Conference finals between the Spurs and Thunder:

This Victor Wembanyama makes the Spurs close to unbeatable

It became clear in the first few minutes of Game 6 that Wembanyama was correcting his mistakes from Game 5.

After playing too passively two nights ago, Wembanyama set the tone early, going 4-of-6 from the floor in the first quarter and 9-of-16 in the first half to take 22 points into intermission.

The rest of the Spurs are feeding off Wembanyama, whose effort on defense and rebounding have also lifted San Antonio. Through the first half, Wembanyama has also hauled in 5 rebounds — which is just one fewer than his total from Game 5.

That said, Wembanyama did launch 8 attempts from 3-point range. And while he made three of his first four, he cannot be settling too much for perimeter shots; the Spurs are at their best when Wembanyama is attacking the rim.

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NBA draft No. 1 picks since 1990: From Derrick Coleman to Cooper Flagg

2025: Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks

(Brad Penner, Imagn Images)

The Thunder need another scorer to emerge

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 10 points in the first half, but only got to the line twice. Cason Wallace dropped 11 on a perfect 4-of-4 half (including three drained triples). The next closest Thunder scorer was Alex Caruso with 7 points.

Oklahoma City, however, needs one of its secondary stars — Chet Holmgren (6 points) or Jared McCain (5) are top of mind — to get going with more consistency.

Jalen Williams is playing, though he’s on a minutes restriction with his hamstring injury, and can’t be counted on to be a reliable scoring threat.

Dylan Harper is providing a crucial spark off the bench

The dynamic rookie has struggled over the last three games, combining to score just 18 points on 5-of-16 shooting over that span.

In the first half Thursday night, Harper was aggressive and in a rhythm, scoring 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.

It couldn’t have come at a better time, as starting point guard De’Aaron Fox missed all five of his shot attempts and didn’t record a single point. Fox does have 4 rebounds and 4 assists, but San Antonio will need scoring from the point guard position, and Harper’s energy off the bench has been massive, especially because he’s not afraid to get out in transition.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thunder vs Spurs Game 6 takeaways: What we have learned

Read the full article here

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