While there have been multiple double-digit wins in the Conference Finals, it was hard to call any team a favorite going into Game 7. Right from the tip-off to the final whistle, the fans across the globe got their money’s worth during the San Antonio Spurs 111- 103 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the series decider. This was the closest a Game 7 Conference Finals has been at halftime since the Sacramento Kings led the Lakers 54-52 in 2002. Apart from Shai Gilgeous- Alexander’s game-high 35 points and Victor Wembanyama’s lifting the Finals MVP trophy, here are the moments that truly grabbed the headlines.

Victor Wembanyama’s elbow goes unchecked; Thunder head coach gets tech

The Spurs ended the first quarter with a 14-point lead. They were cruising with a 31-22 lead over OKC. With just 40 seconds remaining, Wemby was aggressively entering the paint and caught Thunder big man Isaiah Hartenstein squarely in the face with an elbow. The officials initially whistled Hartenstein for a defensive personal foul. But I-Hart’s reaction, being on the ground constantly checking his mouth, meant that he was hit with force.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was irate and was heard yelling at the refs, “That’s f—-ing bulls—!” The broadcasters called it, “You see how upset Daigneault was. He didn’t even need to tell the guys in the back. He challenged it right away.” It was enough to earn him a tech. But he went for a challenge, and they reversed the initial whistle, officially ruling that Wembanyama had made illegal contact against Hartenstein.

The challenge was successful, Wemby got the offensive foul, but the call on Daigneault remained as the fans inside the Paycom Center were furious. But there were more such moments.

Fox stepping out of bounds, and refs not calling

With the scoreline 40-31 in favor of the Spurs, OKC had another no-call. Fox was dribbling the past while Alex Caruso was guarding him on the sideline. The former’s left foot appeared to step out of bounds, but the officials failed to make the call on the error. “I saw him right in front of us. He did step out of bounds on the way to the basket for the two,” said the announcer.

In fact, Fox went on to finish that play with a layup, adding more misery for the Thunder fans. After the play, broadcast cameras captured Fox and Caruso sharing a smile and exchanging words on the court regarding the non-call. With the first no flagrant call in the first frame and then this in the second quarter, OKC faithful were clearly miffed as they entered halftime with a three-point deficit.

Caruso gives one back to the Spurs

In the second frame itself, with 3:12 remaining, Alex Caruso conceded a turnover. Castle stole it and passed it to Wemby for a fastbreak give-and-go. The Spurs guard received it and was ready to dunk the lights out of it. Only for Caruso to push him off. He pulled him down using both hands and it was called for a shooting foul. Clearly, Castle was frustrated and needed his teammate to calm him down.

As an upset Castle looked ready to ignite and confront Caruso or the officials, his rookie teammate Dylan Harper immediately sprinted over. Harper wrapped Castle in a calm, protective hug from behind, successfully keeping him grounded and preventing a costly technical foul or retaliation.

“Then Harper made the play look like he would save his teammate, he said, ‘Oh, hold on, hold on, hold on. Let’s relax a little bit. Let’s not do nothing. He already found they called it.'” Said the announcers while reviewing the play. Was it the frustration of being down, or was it because the calls were not in one’s favor? There were plenty of fireworks and hard fouls from both teams.

Victor Wembanyama stole the spotlight

Wemby was the one to open the scoring on Saturday and wanted to continue his Game 6 form of 28 points and 10 rebounds. Similarly, Holmgren, with his step-back jump shot two-pointer, put the Thunder on board. The big man has struggled this playoffs and has yet to score more than 20 since Round 2 against the Lakers. His struggles continued with a turnover and a driving, floating miss. Then Wembanyama put the exclamation.

He was guarded by Hartenstein, but an old school give and go with Fox caught the Thunder star lacking. It led to Wemby attacking the paint and even rising over for a monstrous dunk on the head of Holmgren. The French star’s intensity continued even in the third quarter. The game was close by then, with OKC trailing by just three.

But Victor Wembanyama even posterized the two-time MVP, Shai, to establish a five-point lead. He would go on to lift the West Finals MVP trophy and lead the Spurs to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014.

Wemby in foul trouble was still no problem for the Spurs

With eight minutes left, Victor Wembanyama had five fouls. Naturally, the Spurs’ starting center had to go to the bench to avoid more trouble. San Antonio gave veteran big man Luke Kornet a multi-year deal for this moment. He played only one minute and 45 seconds in the second half of Game 7, after the Thunder cut an 11-point Spurs lead to just six.

Harper conceded a poor turnover, Hartenstein grabbed it at mid-court, and was ready to pounce. Out of nowhere, Luke Kornet chased down the play and met Hartenstein at the apex to cleanly block the shot. Instead of a 4-point game, the block led to a Stephon Castle bucket on the other end—creating an immediate 4-point swing that broke OKC’s momentum for good.

With his humor, the Spurs backup center even compared it to a LeBron-esque chase-down block from the 2016 Finals. “Someone from the bench yelled, ‘Who is it? LeBron James?’ We’ll see which one has more staying power in the record books of history.” Now, the Spurs, after defeating the #1 team and the current champions, the Thunder, will look to create history vs the Knicks in the NBA Finals.