The series got the finale it deserved.

The seventh game of the Western Conference Finals wasn’t a double-overtime nailbiter like the epic series opener. But, overall, one of the most anticipated matchups in recent NBA history delivered a memorable first chapter for what could be a long-running drama played out in late May for years to come.

The San Antonio Spurs dispatched the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 on Saturday to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in the post-Tim Duncan era. They’ll face a New York Knicks team trying to win a title for the first time since 1973. 

Either way, it will be the eighth straight season the NBA won’t have a repeat champion. For most of the season it looked like the Thunder were going to do just that. But there’s not much else to say other than this version of the Spurs was better than the Thunder, full stop.

As close as Game 7 was – and it was a roller-coaster with runs going back and forth and a high degree of tension throughout – it was San Antonio making the big plays when it mattered and it was the production the Spurs got from their supporting cast that made the difference. 

It’s fair to wonder how much different the outcome would have been had the Thunder had their No. 2 all-around option Jalen Williams (hamstring) healthy, or even the kind of scoring and playmaking punch that Ajay Mitchell (calf) could provide, but the flip side is this: Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is in his third season and is just 22 years old,

Stephon Castle, the fierce guard whose defence gave Shai Gilgeous-Alexander so much trouble in the series, is in his second season and is just 21. Dylan Harper (12 points off the bench on eight shots) is a rookie point guard who turned 20 in March, but the second-overall pick was a responsible as anyone other than Wembanyama for the Spurs winning a Game 7 on the road against the defending champs. 

The Thunder were short-handed, and it showed – especially in the way the Spurs were able to load up their defence on Gilgeous-Alexander for stretches of the series.

The two-time MVP was able to crack the code to the tune of 35 points and nine assists in 43 minutes on Saturday in what was probably his best game of the seven. But let’s repeat: this is the youngest and least experienced version of the Spurs we’re going to see over the next 10 years, or however long Wembanyama’s prime proves to be.

Let’s hope that OKC is at full strength a year from now in what feels like an almost inevitable Western Conference Finals rematch, but the Spurs also figure to be that much better, regardless of how they fare against the  Knicks in the NBA Finals.

The championship series starts Wednesday in San Antonio. 

Here are some takeaways from Game 7.

Luke Kornet, game breaker

There are so many moments in a game or even a series like this that can have an outsized influence, it’s always a bit foolish to pick one. But it’s hard not to look at a sequence with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter as crucial.

The Spurs were up 11 when Thunder big man Isaiah Hartenstein was fouled by Wembanyama on a back-door cut. He dunked it anyway and made the free throw and the lead was down to........

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