How Luke Kornet swung Game 7 back toward Spurs with massive chasedown block

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Any minutes without Victor Wembanyama are scary for the San Antonio Spurs.

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While the Spurs gave veteran big man Luke Kornet a multi-year deal to fill Wembanyama's shoes in short spurts, San Antonio predictably struggled throughout much of the playoffs in Wembanyama's off minutes as Kornet had a hard time replicating anything close to the star's production.

In Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, Kornet put all of those rough moments behind him with a surprising sequence that immediately halted a Thunder run.

Here's a look at how Kornet swung momentum back on the Spurs' side in Game 7.

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Luke Kornet Game 7 block

Kornet played only one minute and 45 seconds in the second half of Game 7, and those minutes were necessitated by Wembanyama nearing the limit with five fouls. 

That could've been enormously consequential for the Spurs. The Thunder cut an 11-point Spurs lead to just six with more than six minutes remaining, and San Antonio likely couldn't afford a stretch without Wembanyama on the court that resembled so many of the stretches that hurt them earlier in the playoffs.

In his brief time on the court, Kornet more than made up for his playoff struggles, chasing down Isaiah Hartenstein and coming through with a massive block that prevented the Thunder from making it a four-point game.

That opportunity turned into a Stephon Castle bucket on the other end, a four-point swing that put the Spurs ahead by eight rather than four, or even three, if Kornet had mistimed his contact.

The Spurs will ask Wembanyama to shoulder the load again in the NBA Finals, but what Kornet can do to stop the bleeding in his short stints on the court could prove to be pivotal if the series against the Knicks — who gave the reserve big man his first NBA opportunity — is as closely contested as many expect.

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