The Spurs walked into Oklahoma City without De’Aaron Fox and somehow walked out with home-court advantage.
Now they may be getting their All-Star point guard back, too.
According to Marc Spears of Andscape, San Antonio is optimistic Fox will be available for Game 2 of the Western Conference finals after missing Monday’s double-overtime thriller against the defending champion Thunder.
Not that the Spurs lacked star power without him.
Victor Wembanyama delivered one of the wildest playoff performances the league has seen in years, finishing with 41 points, 24 rebounds, three assists and three blocks in 49 exhausting minutes.
According to the NBA, Wembanyama joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players ever to post at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in their conference finals debut.
Not bad company.
And afterward, Wembanyama admitted he arrived with extra motivation after watching Shai Gilgeous-Alexander receive his second straight MVP trophy before the game.
“I want to get that trophy,” Wembanyama said.
Safe to say he made his point.
The scary part for the Thunder? Wembanyama wasn’t alone.
Rookie guard Dylan Harper stepped into Fox’s spot in the lineup and looked completely unfazed by the moment, recording 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and seven steals in 47 minutes.
Per the NBA, Harper became just the second rookie since steals became an official stat in 1973-74 to post at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals in a playoff game.
The other guy? Magic Johnson.
Yeah. That’s the list.
By the end of the night, even Wembanyama admitted the heavy minutes were catching up to him physically. But he also made it clear nobody inside San Antonio is thinking about rest right now.
“We’ll rest in July,” he said.
That’s probably not what Oklahoma City wanted to hear after Game 1.
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