Spurs-Thunder will be record-tying 5th Game 7 in the NBA so far in these playoffs

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — It is the year of Game 7.

For the fifth time in this year's playoffs, a series is coming down to the ultimate game. San Antonio will visit Oklahoma City on Saturday night in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.

The others this season: Philadelphia beat Boston on the road in Round 1, Cleveland beat Toronto in Round 1, Detroit beat Orlando in Round 1 and Cleveland beat Detroit on the road in Round 2.

The five Game 7s this season tie the most in a single postseason. There also were that many in 1994, 2014 and 2016. And there have never been three instances of Game 7 road winners in the same season; the Spurs will aim to change that on Saturday.

Home teams have gone 117-42 in the previous 159 instances of Game 7s in the NBA playoffs.

A look at the histories in Game 7 for Oklahoma City and San Antonio, two franchises that have never before gone head-to-head in such a game:

— Thunder, since moving to Oklahoma City: 4-2 overall, 4-0 at home.

The four home wins — the last of which was Game 7 of last season's NBA Finals — were all by double digits and the margin averaged 17.5 points. The two losses were both on the “road,” though one of those was simply classified as a road game because Oklahoma City was lower seeded than Houston when those teams met in the bubble playoffs of 2020.

— Spurs: 4-7 overall, 1-5 on the road.

The lone road Game 7 win in franchise history was at New Orleans in 2008. The Spurs have never played a West finals Game 7 on the road — but played on the road in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals in 1979, losing to Washington.

Spurs forward Harrison Barnes turns 34 on Saturday. This could be a good sign for San Antonio.

No player has ever appeared in a Game 7 during the NBA playoffs on his birthday and lost. Paul George turned 36 on May 2 and Philadelphia beat Boston. And Barnes has been in this position once before; he turned 24 on May 30, 2016, and his Golden State team beat Oklahoma City.

The other birthday winners of Game 7s:

— Pablo Prigoni turned 35 on May 17, 2015; he and Houston beat the Los Angeles Clippers.

— Udonis Haslem turned 32 on June 9, 2012; he and Miami beat Boston.

— Kevin Garnett turned 28 on May 19, 2004; he and Minnesota beat Sacramento.

— Scott Hastings turned 30 on June 3, 1990; he and Detroit beat Chicago.

— Walt Hazzard turned 24 on April 15, 1966; he and the Los Angeles Lakers beat St. Louis.

Saturday night will be the 12th matchup between Oklahoma City and San Antonio this season. San Antonio went 7-4 in the first 11 games between the clubs.

Golden State and Houston played 12 times last season between four regular-season games, an additional game tacked on because of the NBA Cup, and then a seven-game playoff matchup in Round 1.

Other than that, the last time — before now — that two teams met 12 times in the same season was 1994-95, when San Antonio and Houston faced off on that many occasions.

The league has used a scheduling model for the last three decades that doesn't have any teams meeting more than four times in the regular season, which capped the total number of head-to-head meetings at 11 even if they went the distance in a seven-game playoff series. But the addition of NBA Cup now makes a 12-game season series possible.

And technically, teams could meet as many as 13 times.

It's theoretically possible for teams to play four regular-season games, plus a fifth time in NBA Cup, then meet in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 game in the play-in tournament, then play a seven-game playoff series.

Regardless, the record for head-to-head meetings will probably never be broken. In 1959-60, the Minneapolis Lakers and St. Louis Hawks played 20 times and in 1960-61, the Los Angeles Lakers played the Hawks 20 more times. The league had only eight teams then and played a 75-game schedule.

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San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) drives against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) in the second half of Game 6 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, May 28, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) drives past Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) in the second half of Game 6 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, May 28, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

The Oklahoma City Thunder bench watches play against the San Antonio Spurs in the second half of Game 6 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, May 28, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) shoots against San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) in the second half of Game 6 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, May 28, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) shoots against San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) in the second half of Game 6 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, May 28, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

NEW YORK (AP) — Tomatoes, ubiquitous in everything from fast-food burgers to haute cuisine, are taking on a new role beyond the plate: A nagging reminder of rising costs.

Prices for those red orbs have soared more than any other food product over the past year to cement a spot as one of the consumer headaches du jour.

“The tomato has become a symbol of something much deeper,” says Isaac Bernal Carbajo, a New York City chef who lamented life's “simplest pleasures” falling victim to price increases. “Something as basic as buying fresh vegetables is starting to become a serious financial decision for many families.”

Tomato prices are up about 40% over a year ago, according to the latest Consumer Price Index, dwarfing increases for other groceries, including coffee (up 18.5%), beef roasts (up 17.8%) and frozen fish and seafood (up 12%), among other products that have become symbols of America’s affordability squeeze.

A separate inflation gauge released Thursday showed that overall prices increased 3.8% in April from a year earlier, the highest reading in nearly three years.

Alongside crop yields, experts blame price increases for tomatoes, in part, on two pillars of President Donald Trump’s second-term policies: the Iran war and tariffs. The war spiked gas prices and increased shipping costs. Meantime, the U.S. withdrew from a deal allowing duty-free imports of tomatoes from Mexico, which grows most of America's supply.

Usha Haley, a Wichita State University economist, says it's “a perfect storm of trade policy, extreme weather and Mideast policy.”

American tomato farmers cheered the withdrawal from the tomato deal last July, saying it would help rebuild their shrinking industry. But for consumers, it's been painful. Though the U.S. withdrew from the Mexico tomato deal in July, it took time to see the impact in the produce aisle, with more imports in late winter and early spring.

When the tomatoes arrived, they were slapped with a 17% tariff.

“Tariffs are undeniably a big driver of the price inflation,” says Brett Massimino, a Virginia Commonwealth University business professor. “Because the U.S. relies on Mexico for the majority of its tomato supply, any changes in trade policy can have a large impact.”

U.S. tariffs collected on tomatoes ballooned from just $16,424 in 2024 to nearly $4.6 million, according to federal data, a staggering 27,879% increase.

As the cost trickles down, outraged shoppers have pulled out their phones in the produce aisle, shooting videos lamenting costs they said quadrupled, with some vowing to plant a garden to avoid prices of up to $8 a pound. But the impact has been most pronounced for businesses that rely on tomatoes as a key ingredient in their kitchens.

MarginEdge, which tracks prices for restaurants, says grape tomatoes have increased most — 65% in just a month — but prices have gone up across all types of tomatoes.

Phillip Coles, a professor of supply chain management at Lehigh University, says prices should drop later in the year when domestically grown tomatoes are harvested. Higher prices, he says, will also “induce farmers to increase planting to meet the demand, but this takes longer because of the lead time.”

Meantime, it's translating to a big hit for businesses like Snarf’s Sandwiches, which puts a tomato in nearly every sandwich it makes.

Wayne Humphrey, chief operating officer of Snarf’s, which operates dozens of stores in Colorado, Missouri and Texas, said cases of tomatoes went from costing him $27 to $93 in the space of a year, piled on top of rising expenses for other ingredients including bread and beef, as well as increased labor costs.

“That single ingredient now costs us more than $1.7 million in additional spend annually,” says Humphrey. “The math is getting harder to ignore.”

Associated Press writer Dee-Ann Durbin contributed to this report. Matt Sedensky can be reached at msedensky@ap.org and https://x.com/sedensky

Tomatoes await customers on the shelves of a supermarket in New York on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Sedensky)

Tomatoes await customers on the shelves of a supermarket in New York on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Sedensky)