The defending champions are one win away from another trip to the NBA Finals. Behind another brilliant performance from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a dominant second-quarter surge, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs 127-114 Tuesday night in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, taking a 3-2 lead in the series.
Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 32 points to pace Oklahoma City, while veteran guard Alex Caruso continued his postseason impact with 22 points off the bench. Rookie Jared McCain, thrust into the starting lineup with both Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell sidelined, delivered one of the biggest performances of his young career by scoring 20 points in his first playoff start.
The Thunder, who were embarrassed in a 21-point loss in Game 4 just two nights earlier, responded with one of their sharpest offensive outings of the postseason. Oklahoma City had already matched its Game 4 total of 82 points less than four minutes into the third quarter and never allowed San Antonio to seriously threaten down the stretch.
Chet Holmgren added 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Isaiah Hartenstein controlled the paint with 12 points and 15 rebounds as Oklahoma City overwhelmed the Spurs with physicality and second-chance opportunities.
San Antonio stayed competitive behind 24 points from rookie guard Stephon Castle and 22 from Julian Champagnie. Superstar rookie Victor Wembanyama finished with 20 points, but Oklahoma City’s defense frustrated him throughout the night, holding him to just 4-of-15 shooting from the field. Keldon Johnson chipped in 15 points off the bench for San Antonio, which struggled from beyond the arc, missing 29 of its 41 three-point attempts.
The game shifted decisively in the second quarter when Oklahoma City erupted for 40 points. What started as a tightly contested battle quickly turned into a parade to the free-throw line. The teams combined to make 29 free throws in the quarter alone — the most in any second quarter of an NBA game since the 2020 bubble playoffs. The Spurs converted 15-of-17 from the stripe in the period, while the Thunder were a perfect 14-for-14.
Oklahoma City pushed its lead to 20 in the third quarter before San Antonio mounted a brief rally to cut the deficit to single digits. The Spurs, however, were left furious over a pair of controversial calls late in the period.
With under a minute remaining in the third, San Antonio center Luke Kornet appeared to have a tip-in attempt illegally knocked off the rim by Oklahoma City’s Cason Wallace, but no goaltending was called. Moments later, replay appeared to show the ball deflecting out of bounds off Holmgren, yet possession was awarded to the Thunder. Johnson argued the decision, attempted to challenge the call, and was assessed a technical foul after officials ignored the request.
Instead of potentially slicing further into the lead, San Antonio entered the fourth quarter trailing 101-91.
The Thunder ensured the Spurs never got closer than eight the rest of the way, maintaining double-digit control for nearly the entire fourth quarter to move within one victory of returning to the NBA Finals.
Game 6 shifts to San Antonio on Thursday night. If the Spurs can force a decisive Game 7, the series will return to Oklahoma City on Saturday. Awaiting the winner are the New York Knicks, who clinched the Eastern Conference title and will open the NBA Finals at home on June 3 against either Oklahoma City or San Antonio.
