With their backs against the wall, the San Antonio Spurs staved off elimination in the Western Conference finals to set up a highly anticipated Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. While Spurs star Victor Wembanyama stepped up when the team needed him most, his counterpart on the Thunder failed to deliver. Below we’ll explain what went wrong for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Also, our World Cup countdown continues with Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk. For more NBA and World Cup coverage, check out the NBC News website.
The Western Conference finals will come down to a winner-take-all Game 7 after the San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-91 last night. After a double-overtime thriller to start the series, the teams have traded haymakers in the last five contests, setting up a one-game showdown for the right to play in the NBA Finals.
After struggling in Game 5, Wembanyama was sensational yesterday. He scored 28 points, leading all scorers, while also collecting 10 rebounds. He got a big assist from rookie guard Dylan Harper, who scored 18, his most points in the series since Game 1.
“I think we were consistent,” a terse Wembanyama said postgame. “And we did what we needed to do.”
San Antonio’s defense once again flummoxed the Thunder. The Spurs held MVP Gilgeous-Alexander to only 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting. SGA missed all five of his 3-point attempts, and the Thunder were outscored by 28 points when he was on the floor.
After scoring at least 20 points in 140 straight regular-season games, SGA has been held under that mark twice this series.
“I’m not too sure, to be honest,” Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked why he’s had trouble scoring. “A lot of the shots that I’m shooting, I’ve shot plenty of times before and they feel good. They’re just not going in. It’s too late to abandon my work and abandon my game and who I am this late in the season. I got to trust it and live or die by it.”
Game 7 is tomorrow night.
Leading up to the 2026 World Cup, we’re counting down 26 players to watch. They could be household names or unsung heroes, crucial to their team’s success. The players you need to know before the games start. Today’s entry is Netherlands star Virgil van Dijk.
It’s a classic movie trope: the group that reunites for one last job. Who best fits that role in the context of the World Cup? It could be the Netherlands.
The ringleader is Virgil van Dijk, one of the best defenders of his generation with Liverpool who has captained the Oranje for a national record 72 appearances and represented the Dutch national team for a decade. Though he hasn’t declared anything certain about whether this will be his last World Cup, van Dijk already mulled an international retirement once, in 2024. Now 34, he certainly doesn’t have many opportunities left to earn a long-sought World Cup title for a country that has finished second in 1974, 1978 and 2010.
“We’ve never done it before,” he said last year, “but I think we have a great group that can make things difficult for anyone. That would be a very beautiful dream coming true.”
High expectations follow the Netherlands after breezing through qualification last year while outscoring opponents by 23 goals. The country has reached the knockout stage of every World Cup it has played in since 1974, and in its last three appearances, it finished second and third and made the quarterfinals. Though their title chances took a hit when Xavi Simons suffered a season-ending injury this spring, the Dutch will surround van Dijk with a deep group of younger teammates, including Frenkie de Jong, Denzel Dumfries and Tijjani Reijnders. Ranked seventh in the world, the Dutch are a factor this summer and could be again during the next World Cup cycle.
Yet whether van Dijk will still be in uniform in 2030 is unclear, making this a chance the Netherlands can’t afford to lose.
Yesterday’s entry was Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Esmir Bajraktarević. Read about him here.
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Remembering former NHL star Claude Lemieux, who died yesterday at 60.
The NHL playoffs continue tonight with the Carolina Hurricanes one win away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Final. If they close out the series, they’ll meet the red-hot Las Vegas Golden Knights.
That’s it for now! We’ll be back Monday.
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