In the words of Zaza Pachulia: NOTHING EASY! NOTHING EASY! WE GOING TO GAME 7, BABY! GAME SEVEN! GAME SEVEEEEENNNN!
The San Antonio Spurs dismantled the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 118-91 win in Game Six. With the series tied 3-3, the Spurs will head to Oklahoma City with an NBA Finals appearance on the line.
The Spurs won the game on defense, holding the Thunder to just 13 points in the third quarter. While the defense stifled the Thunder, Victor Wembanyama and Dylan Harper scored at will. They’ll
lead our Game Six player grades. As a quick reminder, player grades are based on each player’s on-court performance, going beyond just the stat sheet. A “B” grade represents the average performance for an individual. If a player logs fewer than 5 minutes or plays only in garbage time, their grade will be incomplete.
Victor Wembanyama
28 minutes, 28 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers, 10-for-21 shooting, 4-for-9 threes, +13
Wembanyama responded to the moment. Wembanyama came out aggressively after a disappointing Game Five. He made it rain from three and attacked the basket on a few difficult drives. He was much more impactful on the defensive end, constantly disrupting the Thunder’s drives to the basket.
If you’re looking to pick apart Wembanyama’s game, he probably took too many jumpers. The Thunder are doing everything in their power to prevent him from catching lobs at the rim or getting deep post position. Finding a way to get him going toward the basket will be key in Game Seven. As +132 underdogs on FanDuel, the Spurs will need everything they can get from Wembanyama.
Grade: A
De’Aaron Fox
26 minutes, 5 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 fouls, 1-for-9 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, +17
Fox still doesn’t have the lift on his jumper due to his ankle injury. He made up for his lack of scoring with his passing and defensive effort. Fox had 7 assists and 0 turnovers in the win. He knew exactly when to push the pace in transition and when to slow it down and find his healthy teammates. Game Seven will be a different story. The game will almost certainly slow down, and the Spurs will need Fox’s scoring.
Grade: C+
Stephon Castle
32 minutes, 17 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 5-for-10 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, +13
Castle has been fantastic in this series. He was great at handling the ball in Game Six with 9 assists and just 1 turnover. Once again, he defended his tail off against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Spurs held SGA to 15 points on 6-18 shooting.
Grade: A-
Julian Champagnie
25 minutes, 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 4-for-8 shooting, 2-for-6 threes, +24
Champagnie didn’t have the same explosive game he did in Game Five, but he continued to knock down shots. He made his presence known with an awesome finish at the rim and a sweet block from the weak side. He is playing really well right now on both ends. The Spurs are going to need another big performance from him in Game Seven.
Grade: B+
Devin Vassell
26 minutes, 12 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 4-for-7 shooting, 4-for-7 threes, +18
Where would the Spurs be without Vassell? He was on fire in Game Six and maintained his excellent defense and effort. He’s been given incredibly difficult defensive matchups in SGA and Chet Holmgren. He’s held his own with Gilgeous-Alexander on the perimeter and played tough against Holmgren inside. His block against Holmgren was one of the biggest highlights from the game.
Grade: A-
Dylan Harper
22 minutes, 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 6-for-9 shooting, 2-for-3 threes, +19
This might have been Harper’s best game of the series. He looks like he’s back after struggling with an injury. He played with strength as he got to the basket and made aggressive plays in transition. What stood out the most was his tough shot-making in the mid-range and from three. When those shots are falling, the Spurs are incredibly hard to beat.
Grade: A
Keldon Johnson
18 minutes, 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 4-for-7 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, +7
Johnson continues to play within the rhythm and in the flow of the offense for the most part. There are times when he puts his head down and gets into trouble. His energy has been so important. He’ll need to bring that same passion and fire to Game Seven.
Grade: B
Luke Kornet
13 minutes, 3 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 1-for-2 shooting, +13
This was a scrappy game for Kornet. He was mucking things up inside, especially during the Spurs’ big run without Wembanyama on the floor. Surviving without Wembanyama on the floor has been a key part of the Spurs’ victories in this series. Kornet helped San Antonio thrive in Game Six.
Grade: B
Harrison Barnes
13 minutes, 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 turnover, 2-for-4 shooting, 2-for-4 threes, +5
Barnes grabbed an offensive rebound and knocked down a pair of triples in his limited minutes. Johnson went to him over Bryant earlier in the game, but ended up using both players.
Grade: B
Carter Bryant
8 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 1-for-3 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, +2
Bryant had another incredible dunk. He also played awesome defense on SGA in his limited minutes. That’s not counting him laying him out in a moment that almost led to a flagrant foul.
Grade: B
Jordan McLaughlin
7 minutes, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 0-for-2 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, +/- 0
McLaughlin mixed it up with four rebounds and a few assists. He missed some tough shots in garbage time.
Grade: Incomplete
Kelly Olynyk
5 minutes, 6 points, 1 rebound, 2-for-3 shooting, +1
Olynyk led garbage time scoring. He got fouled hard by Nikola Topic while going up for a layup late in the game.
Grade: Incomplete
Bismack Biyombo
5 minutes, 0-for-1 shooting, +1
Biyombo missed one shot in garbage time, oddly playing away from the basket in the Spurs’ 3-center lineup.
Grade: Incomplete
Mason Plumlee
5 minutes, 1 rebound, 1 foul, +1
No retribution on Plumlee after his flagrant foul in Game 5. He didn’t do much in his minutes.
Grade: Incomplete
Lindy Waters III
6 minutes, 2 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 foul, 1-for-2 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, +1
Waters knocked down a sweet paint jumper for his two points.
Grade: Incomplete
