The San Antonio Spurs went on the road to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday, upsetting the reigning champions in route to the NBA Finals. It was the 10th anniversary of the Golden State Warriors own Game 7 Western Conference Finals victory over the Thunder. The Dubs had comeback from 3-1 in the series while the Spurs completed a 3-2 comeback of their own. And there was one other connection between those Dubs and this year’s Spurs: Harrison
Barnes whose birthday happens to be May 30th. So Barnes’ 24th and 34th birthdays were capped off by some of the most exciting Game 7 victories in recent NBA history.
It’s a testament to Barnes’ longevity that he played comparable roles on two Finals teams a decade apart. While Barnes only played three minutes yesterday, he was a mainstay in the Spurs starting lineup for the majority of the regular season, averaging 9.9 points on 45.6%/38.8%/82.9% shooting in 25.8 minutes per game across 77 contests (52 starts).
The Spurs hope to avoid the 2016 Warriors’ fate in the Finals. San Antonio is heavy favorites heading into the series with the New York Knicks, like the Dubs were against the Cavaliers in 2016 before losing in seven games. Barnes notoriously lost his three-point shot in the Finals (after shooting 52.6% from three against the Thunder) and would be replaced by Kevin Durant the following offseason. This go-around, Barnes three-point shot wavered early in the playoffs and Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson took him out of the starting lineup in favor of Julian Champagnie.
However the NBA Finals goes for Harrison Barnes and the Spurs, he can thank his teammates for making sure he had an excellent birthday.
