The Western Conference Finals began Monday night, with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder hosting the No. 2-seeded San Antonio Spurs. The matchup is only the seventh time in NBA history that two 62+ win teams have squared off against each other in the playoffs. Right away in Game 1, both teams lived up to the hype, with Oklahoma City mounting a fourth-quarter comeback to force overtime. San Antonio would eventually prevail, but it would take two extra periods to do so, winning 122-115 in double overtime.
This would make history for the first time in 50 years, as the last Western Conference Finals game to reach a double overtime period was in 1976, when the Phoenix Suns defeated the Golden State Warriors 133-129.
At that time, Phil Smith led the Warriors in scoring with 30 points, playing 56 of a possible 58 minutes. Rick Barry and Jamaal Wilkes had standout performances as well, as the Hall of Fame duo combined to score 50. Although Golden State would bounce back with a win in Game 5, they’d ultimately lose the series in seven games after leading 3-2.
This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Spurs/Thunder make history for the first time in 50 years since GSW in 1976
Reporting by Mack Baltes, Warriors Wire / Warriors Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
