Victor Wembanyama has responded superbly to the desperate situation as the San Antonio Spurs sent the Western Conference finals back to Oklahoma City for a deciding Game 7, routing the Thunder 118-91.

Facing an elimination game for the first time in his NBA career, towering French superstar Wembanyama had a fiery pregame address for teammates on Thursday night, something he doesn't typically do.

He then amassed 28 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals to help ensure the host Spurs bounced back from their listless Game 5 loss and extended this see-sawing series.

Game 7 is Saturday night, with the winner hosting the New York Knicks on Wednesday night to open the NBA Finals.

Dylan Harper had 18 points, Stephon Castle added 17 and Devin Vassell had 12 points and two thunderous blocks for San Antonio as they levelled the series at 3-3.

"(Playing with desperation) just feels like it erases kind of all the little mistakes that we do that are human nature, whether it's in the regular season or previous games," Wembanyama said.

"I think we were consistent and we did what we needed to do. Trusted the game, trusted the basketball gods."

NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was limited to a team-high 15 points on 6-for-18 shooting for defending champions Oklahoma City.

The Thunder were scoreless for eight minutes in the third as the Spurs ran off 22 straight points to make it 92-64 with 56 seconds left in the quarter.

The average margin of victory has been 15.3 points, with the Spurs winning by an average of 18.3 points.

Wembanyama has been at the forefront of all three victories.

The 7-foot-4 star joined Hall of Famers David Robinson and Tim Duncan as the only players in franchise history with five games of 25 points and 10 rebounds in a single postseason.

Wembanyama made his first two shots ? both 3-pointers ? and blocked Gilgeous-Alexander's layup in the first 1:27 as San Antonio took a 9-2 lead.

Wembanyama had 11 points, five rebounds an assist and a block in the opening quarter.

The series remained physical and contentious, with the Thunder's Chet Holmgren jawing with and bumping into Vassell after the Spurs' wing blocked the 7-footer's dunk attempt in the second quarter.

Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams returned after reinjuring his hamstring in Game 2 and missing the next three games. Williams was limited to one point on 0-for-1 shooting in 10 minutes.

Holmgren had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

San Antonio are seeking seek their first NBA Finals appearance since 2014 while Oklahoma City are looking to become first team to reach back-to-back NBA Finals since Golden State in 2019.