The untold story of 7s from the Spurs-Thunder Game One WCF thriller

There are a lot of ways to describe what happened in Game 1 of the epic Western Conference Finals between the Spurs and Thunder nearly four months ago. A classic. A war. A 49-minute Wemby masterpiece that needed two overtimes to settle. All true. But there's another way to describe it that nobody seemed to notice: seven. That number kept showing up everywhere.

Look at the line score from that game.

1st quarter: 27-27
2nd quarter: 24-17
3rd quarter: 29-29
4th quarter: 21-28
1st OT: 7-7
2nd OT: 14-7

San Antonio won 122-115. A seven-point final margin.

I'm not sure if the league office scripted this with a numerologist on staff, but I'm not ruling it out. What's clear is the number seven kept crashing the biggest swings of the craziest game the Spurs played all last season. Once you notice it, you can't stop seeing it.

Seven kept showing up every time the game changed

SA and OKC were tied at 27 after one quarter. Under normal circumstances, that would be nothing but proof that both teams were evenly matched through 12 minutes. In this instance, it was a message.

Two teams. Seven games. And nothing would be easy for either side.

In the second quarter, the Spurs found their first real separation: a 24-17 run, good for a seven-point swing, and a 51-44 halftime lead. Victor Wembanyama was asserting himself, and for a minute, seven was just a number.

It didn't stay that way.

Then the number seven got weird on the Spurs

The third quarter was a 29-29 wash, allowing the Silver and Black to carry that same seven-point cushion, 80-73, into the fourth. That's when OKC flipped the script and won the period 28-21. Another seven points. It was the same margin in the opposite direction, forcing overtime at 108-108.

Wemby had a look to win it in regulation but couldn't put it in, so, as luck would have it, fans were treated to overtime. The first extra five minutes were a little rough. Neither team looked amazing, but Oklahoma City had taken the lead. It began to look as if, after trailing most of the night, the defending champs would take Game 1.

That was until Vic knocked down a 28-footer with... 27 seconds left on the clock. A second overtime was needed to settle the battle because, naturally, the Spurs and Thunder played the first OT to a 7-7 tie.

I know. Spooky, right?

When Wemby hit that shot, the Paycom Center basically stopped functioning. The fans were visibly shook, and San Antonio took advantage, pulling away in the second overtime. They won the final five minutes 14-7—another seven-point differential, effectively winning the game by seven (122-115).

The foundation for an unbelievable seven-game series was forged.

And then there's Dylan Harper, who apparently wanted in on the bit. 24 points, 11 boards, 6 assists, and... 7 steals, which was a new Spurs franchise playoff record.

Coincidence? Probably. That game was unhinged long before anybody found the number seven pulling strings from the inside. I just can't unsee it now, and frankly, I don't want to.

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