Wembanyama's 41-point night sees Spurs steal Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals

Victor Wembanyama scored 41 points as the San Antonio Spurs took Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals on the road, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-109. The game was played on the same night MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received his award in a pregame ceremony.

According to ESPN's match report, Wembanyama added 19 rebounds and eight blocks to the scoring total. The 41-point line is a postseason career high for the 21-year-old French centre.

For the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 33 points but found his fourth-quarter shooting disrupted. Oklahoma City led at the end of the third quarter but lost rhythm in the fourth as Wembanyama's shot-blocking imposed itself.

The pivotal sequence came with about four minutes remaining in the third quarter. Wembanyama denied two consecutive Thunder shots at the rim while San Antonio doubled Gilgeous-Alexander quickly off ball-screens, then drained a three-pointer on the ensuing trip.

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said in the post-game press conference: "This kid is a different player. He is 21, but his basketball IQ has him moving like a 30-year-old. If this series goes long, I want to see how Oklahoma City solves him."

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault was more measured. "Planning for a player like Wembanyama is about details — when you double, how fast you recover, when you let him be one-on-one. That's the conversation for the next two days."

Statistically, the Spurs' headline number was three-point shooting at 47 per cent on 15-of-32. Devon Dotson and Stephon Castle accounted for nine of those, and ESPN noted that the team performance was the Spurs' best three-point output of the playoffs.

Defensively, Thunder tracking data showed opponents shooting only 38 per cent at the rim when Wembanyama was the primary defender — far below the Thunder's usual frontcourt allowance of around 60 per cent.

The series is on a tight schedule. Game 2 is on Friday in Oklahoma. Whether Wembanyama's wrist issue, which limited him during the second round, will resurface is a major question. ESPN reported that after the game the player left a physiotherapy session saying simply that he "feels good."

The NBA's Eastern Conference Finals are running concurrently, with the Cleveland Cavaliers facing the New York Knicks. The NBA Finals are scheduled to begin, according to the league's official calendar, on 5 June.