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The Thunder are one win away from back-to-back NBA Finals, after running over the Spurs at Paycom Center tonight.
OKC proved too powerful on the night, coming through 127-114 and led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 32 points and 9 assists.
Alex Caruso (22 points) and Jared McCain with 20 points on his first first career playoff start, were the picks of the supporting cast.
Oklahoma City leads the Western Conference finals series 3-2 with Game 6 in San Antonio on Thursday night, with the Knicks awaiting in the NBA Finals.
Follow below for live reaction and analysis from our NBA writers.
Tonight’s Game 5 matchup saw the Alex Caruso of Games 1-3 emerge, instead of the Game 4 version that failed to score a point.
Caruso was one of the Thunder’s most dangerous players on offense: notching 22 points, dishing out six assists and knocking down four 3s. He played 26 minutes off the bench and was electric on both sides of the court, highlighted by a team-high three steals.
Game 5 was an impressive bounce-back performance for the veteran, and one that helped move him within a game of his second career NBA Finals.
Fun moment after the NBC panel spent a lot of time — fairly and sternly — criticizing Victor Wembanyama’s play tonight.
Maria Taylor lightened the mood by asking Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady what it felt like in their first postseason trips:
💬 “Y’all remember what it felt like? Were we extra tired? Did we feel like Wemby.”
Carter started:
💬 “We got swept … My first one, I was tired after the first game.”
McGrady next:
💬 “I was a bench player.”
Then Anthony:
💬 “At 22, I think I won one game.”
For the record, Carter (23) and McGrady (20) were both on the Raptors in 2000, when they were swept by the Knicks in Round 1. Carter averaged 19.3 points on 15-of-50 from the field. McGrady scored 16.7 points but shot 39 percent from the field.
Anthony was 19 when the Nuggets lost to Minnesota in five games in his rookie season. He averaged just 15 points per game on 33 percent shooting.
When McGrady was 22, he averaged 30.8 points per game in a four-game first-round series loss to Charlotte.
When Anthony was 22, he averaged 26.8 points per game in a five-game first-round series loss to San Antonio.
Anyway, Taylor’s point was taken.
The Thunder have not lost back-to-back playoff games the last two postseasons.
They have nine straight wins following a loss in the playoffs.
This felt like a missed opportunity for the San Antonio Spurs to me.
They beat the Thunder by 21 in Game 4. Victor Wembanyama had another monster performance. But tonight, he didn’t have that same intensity on the offensive end.
Credit the Thunder and their stout defense for plugging the paint. Also, you have to remember this is Wemby’s first Western Conference finals. Playoff experience matters. The Thunder showed their championship mettle and depth in Game 5.
The Spurs needed to win tonight because I just don’t see them beating the Thunder two games in a row.
But you never know!
The Spurs haven’t had a true Tier A individual creator this year. They have a bunch of really good ones and they have been able to thrive in the aggregate.
But that hasn’t quite cut it against the Thunder in the conference finals because their defense is immaculate.
Somebody — well, Wemby — has to prove they can step up to that level. Because Shai has.
Tracy McGrady did not sugarcoat anything when asked about Victor Wembanyama’s quiet game.
💬 “We talk about how amazing Wemby is on the basketball court, on both ends. We didn’t see that tonight.
“It’s shocking because Games 1 and 4, he was all of that. When you’re coming into a game, with what’s at stake, I expected a legendary performance, a historic performance. In the first quarter, it just seemed like he was tired, lethargic, didn't have the energy (the Thunder) possessed that he should have come out with in a Game 5.
“I don’t know what it was. But Game 6 has to be a different Wembanyama … Tonight, really? Four for 15? There should never be a time where he has 15 shots in this type of game.”
Carmelo Anthony said he thought Wembanyama looked “tired” and “stressed,” although he added he expects Wembanyama to bounce back in Game 6.
💬 “Wemby, from the beginning of the game, warmups, looked to me like he was going through the motions. He didn’t have his same pop that he usually has before the game.
“Tonight, I saw a young, tired Wemby who couldn’t figure it out.”
Thunder outscored Spurs 26-15 on second-chance points in Game 5 of the 2026 Western Conference finals.
That’s the most second chance points the Thunder have scored in any playoff game under Mark Daigneault.
It wasn’t pretty but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander claimed the upper hand in his Game 5 duel against Victor Wembanyama.
Gilgeous-Alexander admitted as much in the NBC postgame interview, citing his slow offensive start, but he finished the game with 32 points and scored exactly half of those on free throws: 16 of 17 from the stripe.
While he turned the ball over six times, he recorded nine assists and recorded two steals in 37 minutes.
Wembanyama also found success in getting to the line but was much less efficient offensively.
Now the reigning NBA Finals MVP is on the verge of returning to the sport’s biggest stage.
SGA DELIVERED IN GAME 5!
⛈️ 32 PTS
⛈️ 9 AST
⛈️ 2 STL
Thunder win Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead in the West Finals 🍿 pic.twitter.com/D0bfspcvGu
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t mince words when he described his start to Game 5.
But postgame, the NBA MVP credited his teammates for stepping up in this pivotal contest.
💬 “I might have had the worst start to a basketball game in my career.”
Jared McCain wasn’t especially efficient but he’s such a willing 3-point shooter, pull-up threat in the midrange and fearless paint driver that he is an effective panacea to the Spurs defense in the way Ajay Mitchell was against whatever you want to call the Lakers defense in the semifinals.
It’s not a great sign that McCain is starting overall, as Jalen Williams shouldn’t be expected back this week. But Mitchell was eating against a Lakers defense that was chewable inside.
The way to beat the Spurs is with shots outside of the paint, and McCain has been a willing and able complement for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in that regard.
Jared McCain starred in his first start with the Thunder!
20 PTS (18 in 2H)
3 REB
3 3PM
Thunder win Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead in the West Finals 🍿 pic.twitter.com/TWTThyd4xC
Jared McCain received the starting nod from coach Mark Daigneault, and he made the vote of confidence worth it with one of his finest performances of the postseason.
After scoring two points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field in the first half, McCain tallied 18 in the second half and sank three 3-pointers. The treys helped squash San Antonio’s late-game momentum and fired up the home crowd.
The last time McCain scored 20 or more points? March 18.
His promotion to the starting lineup and 33-minute outing signal an elevated role for the midseason trade acquisition, and he proved he deserved it in Game 5.
Mitch Johnson to reporters in Oklahoma City when asked if they need to find a way to get more from Victor Wembanyama offensively:
💬 “We’re gonna need to. He’s gotta take more than 15 shots, even with the free throws. He’s gonna need to score more than 20 points, for sure.”
Mitch Johnson on the explanation he got for not getting that challenge call at the end of the third quarter:
💬 “They just said they didn’t see me.”
I’m really curious to see what the Spurs’ response looks like in Game 6.
Feels like the most desperate team has won each game this series.
That will be San Antonio on Thursday. Will they have the answer and force a Game 7?
The two games Spurs have won in this series:
I can’t wait to see the first Wemby-facing-elimination game.
When the Thunder’s defense was allowed to contest Victor Wembanyama’s shots, they succeeded in throwing him off his game.
Wembanyama was 12 of 12 at the free-throw line, but made just four of his 15 field-goal attempts in 38 minutes and did not score more than one field goal in any quarter.
Without Wembanyama as effective offensively, the Spurs struggled to rally in the second half and allowed their deficit to balloon to 20 points late in the game.
The four field goals was half of his previous low in the Western Conference finals, and his 0-of-5 showing from 3 was his first game of the series without a 3-point make.
The Spurs will need him to return to MVP form when the series returns to San Antonio for Game 6.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander:
💬 “We just played to who we were tonight.”
Fitting way to describe that one.
Zora Stephenson with a funny question:
💬 “When are you going to think you have a good game?”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander seemed to be amused by the question, but didn’t break character:
💬 “When I have a good game.”
"I might have had the worst start to a basketball game in my career, but the group held it down."
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander speaks with Zora Stephenson after the Thunder's big Game 5 win! pic.twitter.com/8FA49L0yfU
Spurs only allowed BlazerWolves to score 110+ points once in 11 playoff games, and none reached 120.
Thunder have now tagged the Spurs three times for 120 points in Western Conference finals.
All of them OKC wins.
