OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — This postseason has become defined by decisive seventh games.
Saturday night’s Western Conference finals between San Antonio and Oklahoma City will mark the fifth time this playoff year that a series has reached its final possible contest.
The previous Game 7 matchups this year included Philadelphia’s road victory over Boston in the opening round, Cleveland defeating Toronto in Round 1, Detroit topping Orlando in Round 1, and Cleveland beating Detroit away from home in the second round.
This year’s total of five seventh games matches the highest number ever recorded in a single postseason. The NBA previously saw this many in 1994, 2014, and 2016. Additionally, no postseason has ever featured three road victories in Game 7 situations; San Antonio has the opportunity to create that historic milestone on Saturday.
Throughout NBA playoff history, home teams have dominated Game 7 contests with a 117-42 record across 159 such matchups.
Here’s how both franchises have performed in Game 7 situations, noting that Oklahoma City and San Antonio have never faced each other in a decisive seventh game:
— Thunder performance since relocating to Oklahoma City: 4-2 overall record, perfect 4-0 at home.
Their four home victories — including last season’s NBA Finals Game 7 — were all decisive double-digit wins with an average margin of 17.5 points. Both defeats came in “road” games, though one was technically classified as such only because Oklahoma City had a lower seed than Houston during the 2020 bubble playoffs.
— Spurs record: 4-7 overall, 1-5 in road Game 7s.
San Antonio’s only road Game 7 victory came against New Orleans in 2008. The franchise has never played a Western Conference finals Game 7 away from home, though they did lose on the road in the 1979 Eastern Conference finals against Washington.
Saturday brings special significance for Spurs forward Harrison Barnes, who celebrates his 34th birthday. History suggests this timing could favor San Antonio.
No NBA player has ever lost a Game 7 played on his birthday. Paul George celebrated his 36th birthday on May 2 when Philadelphia defeated Boston. Barnes experienced this unique situation before, turning 24 on May 30, 2016, when his Golden State team beat Oklahoma City.
Previous birthday winners in Game 7 situations include:
— Pablo Prigoni, who turned 35 on May 17, 2015, when Houston defeated the Los Angeles Clippers.
— Udonis Haslem, celebrating his 32nd birthday on June 9, 2012, as Miami beat Boston.
— Kevin Garnett, turning 28 on May 19, 2004, when Minnesota defeated Sacramento.
— Scott Hastings, who turned 30 on June 3, 1990, as Detroit beat Chicago.
— Walt Hazzard, celebrating his 24th birthday on April 15, 1966, when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated St. Louis.
Saturday’s contest will represent the 12th meeting between these teams this season. San Antonio holds a 7-4 advantage in their previous 11 encounters.
The only recent comparison came last season when Golden State and Houston met 12 times through four regular-season games, an NBA Cup contest, and a seven-game first-round playoff series.
Before this season, the last time two teams faced each other 12 times in one season was 1994-95, when San Antonio and Houston had that many meetings.
For three decades, the league’s scheduling format limited teams to four regular-season meetings maximum, capping total head-to-head contests at 11 even with a full seven-game playoff series. However, the NBA Cup’s addition now allows for 12-game season series.
Theoretically, teams could meet as many as 13 times in one season.
This would require four regular-season games, one NBA Cup meeting, a play-in tournament matchup between the seventh and eighth seeds, followed by a complete seven-game playoff series.
Still, the all-time record for head-to-head meetings will likely remain untouchable. During 1959-60, the Minneapolis Lakers and St. Louis Hawks played 20 times, and in 1960-61, the Los Angeles Lakers faced the Hawks 20 more times. The league operated with only eight teams then and used a 75-game schedule.
