Victor Wembanyama was on the verge of tears while wrapping his arms around his teammates at the Paycom Center on Saturday night as the San Antonio Spurs completed a 111-103 win in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.

The Spurs handed the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder their first string of back-to-back losses in over a year.

San Antonio now advances to the franchise's first NBA Finals in 12 years, where the New York Knicks await after ending a decades-long Finals drought of their own.

The 7-4 superstar Wembanyama, who was named MVP of the series, led the Spurs with 22 points and seven rebounds. Six other Spurs scored in double figures, including Julian Champagnie's 20 points off six 3-pointers and Stephon Castle's 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.

OKC was led by regular-season MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who posted 35 points on 12-of-21 shooting and a 9-of-11 showing at the free-throw line. The rest of the Thunder's starting lineup combined for 31 points.

The Spurs built a lead as large as 14 in the first quarter off scoring in transition off turnovers. OKC gave it away six times, but the Thunder matched San Antonio with seven points scored off turnovers in the opening period.

The Thunder's spirits raised with a run to end the quarter that included head coach Mark Daigneault getting whistled for a technical. Oklahoma City also successfully challenged a call that resulted in Wembanyama picking up a personal foul.

San Antonio led 32-25 after the first quarter, shooting 57 percent and holding the Thunder to 3-for-13 shooting from 3-point range.

Jared McCain reached 10 points early in the second quarter to claw the Thunder back to within a two-possession deficit, but moments later, Wembanyama nailed a deep triple to push the Spurs' lead back to nine, initiating a Daigneault timeout.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 15 of his 19 first-half points to help the Thunder begin matching the Spurs' speed with some of their own, which kept the game close in the final five minutes of the half. The back-to-back MVP had a string of midrange buckets before Castle was fouled hard in transition by Alex Caruso with just over three minutes to play.

Both teams were held back before things escalated, and after further review, the whistle was not upgraded to a flagrant. The Thunder took advantage of second-chance opportunities to take their first lead of the game at 51-49 with a minute and a half to go in the half.

San Antonio answered with a pair of baskets to retake the lead, and despite being out-rebounded 26-14 in the first half, including a 9-4 edge on the offensive end that resulted in 17 second-chance points for OKC, the Spurs held a 56-53 lead at halftime.

SGA continued to be the catalyst of the Thunder's offense early in the back-and-forth second half. The physicality increased, however, as San Antonio exploded on a 16-2 run. The streak was capped by a three-pointer from Julian Champagnie halfway through the third quarter as Wembanyama was knocked to the deck inside. Minutes later, Wemby nailed a triple to put San Antonio ahead by double-digits at 76-65.

The Thunder trimmed the deficit back to three with 2:46 to go in the quarter by getting to the free-throw line. Keeping up his clutch postseason play, De'Aaron Fox floated in a teardrop to stop a 7-0 OKC run. But just like that, the Spurs' lead was back to just two after a massive three by Jaylin Williams.

San Antonio led 80-77 going into a do-or-die fourth quarter, where both teams would be pushed to the brink.

Wembanyama and the Spurs upped the ante with his offensive aggressiveness from the perimeter. San Antonio got out in transition and shot the lights out from 3-point range to extend the advantage back to 11 with eight minutes to play.

Leading by just six, Luke Kornet's incredible chase-down block led to a made jumper in what felt like another massive swing in momentum to the Spurs. The Thunder then committed a turnover, and Champagnie nailed a three to push the lead to 11 once more.

Harper converted a put-back that forced Oklahoma City to call its final timeout with 4:26 left on the clock and San Antonio leading 104-93. Cason Wallace finally became the SGA teammate to step up as he hit two big triples to keep the Thunder within striking distance.

Ultimately, it wasn't enough.

With one minute to go, Castle collected an offensive rebound and laid it back in to give the Spurs a cushion. San Antonio reset the possession with a timeout, leading 109-103 at the 42-second mark.

A chaotic turnover and scramble resulted in Fox fouling SGA with 22 seconds to play. The Spurs forced missed threes and finished it off with a rebound as the clock sounded.

San Antonio dethroned the defending champs with a complete showing of depth, two-way versatility, and resilience in the face of pressure. The young group is rewarded with an opportunity to compete for a championship much earlier than anyone would have anticipated.

The NBA Finals begin on Wednesday, June 3 with Game 1 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.