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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — It is the year of Game 7.
For the fifth time in this year’s playoffs, a series is coming down to the ultimate game. San Antonio will visit Oklahoma City on Saturday night in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.
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The others this season: Philadelphia beat Boston on the road in Round 1, Cleveland beat Toronto in Round 1, Detroit beat Orlando in Round 1 and Cleveland beat Detroit on the road in Round 2.
The five Game 7s this season tie the most in a single postseason. There also were that many in 1994, 2014 and 2016. And there have never been three instances of Game 7 road winners in the same season; the Spurs will aim to change that on Saturday.
Home teams have gone 117-42 in the previous 159 instances of Game 7s in the NBA playoffs.
Game 7 records
A look at the histories in Game 7 for Oklahoma City and San Antonio, two franchises that have never before gone head-to-head in such a game:
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— Thunder, since moving to Oklahoma City: 4-2 overall, 4-0 at home.
The four home wins — the last of which was Game 7 of last season’s NBA Finals — were all by double digits and the margin averaged 17.5 points. The two losses were both on the “road,” though one of those was simply classified as a road game because Oklahoma City was lower seeded than Houston when those teams met in the bubble playoffs of 2020.
— Spurs: 4-7 overall, 1-5 on the road.
The lone road Game 7 win in franchise history was at New Orleans in 2008. The Spurs have never played a West finals Game 7 on the road — but played on the road in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals in 1979, losing to Washington.
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Game 7 birthday matters
Spurs forward Harrison Barnes turns 34 on Saturday. This could be a good sign for San Antonio.
No player has ever appeared in a Game 7 during the NBA playoffs on his birthday and lost. Paul George turned 36 on May 2 and Philadelphia beat Boston. And Barnes has been in this position once before; he turned 24 on May 30, 2016, and his Golden State team beat Oklahoma City.
The other birthday winners of Game 7s:
— Pablo Prigoni turned 35 on May 17, 2015; he and Houston beat the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/spurs-thunder-record-tying-5th-170514847.html
Author : TIM REYNOLDS
Publish date : 2026-05-29 17:05:00
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