NBA
NBA Playoffs
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 32 points and nine assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a big Game 5 win over the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday night. Christian Petersen / Getty Images
The Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back from their worst game of the season with a pivotal response at home, beating the San Antonio Spurs 127-114 in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday.
Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a game-high 32 points with nine assists to lead the Thunder, who recovered wonderfully from posting a season low in points and field goal percentage in Game 4. OKC again was without star forward Jalen Williams (left hamstring) and Ajay Mitchell (right calf strain).
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But once again, the Thunder’s depth showed up and overpowered the Spurs. Alex Caruso scored 22 points off the bench. Jared McCain scored 17, Chet Holmgren had 16 points with 11 rebounds, and Isaiah Hartenstein added 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
Stephon Castle led the Spurs in double-figure scoring with 24 points. Julian Champagnie had 22 points and eight rebounds. Victor Wembanyama scored 20 points on a rough 4-for-15 shooting, and he went 0 for 5 from 3-point range.
Here are some takeaways with Game 6 set for Thursday in San Antonio.
When the Thunder are rolling, there is this recognizable brand of basketball they play with. It’s connective, it’s tenacious, it’s efficient and calculated.
Nothing like Game 4. Everything like Game 5.
The Thunder offense got punches from everyone. Hartenstein’s screening, McCain’s gutsy shotmaking, Gilgeous-Alexander’s pace, Caruso’s timeliness. It is a swarm of attacks too diverse to fight off. The defense was even more toxic, with Caruso’s positioning and Cason Wallace’s deflections.
Tuesday night seemed as hard, as OKC fought to limit Wembanyama, who never quite injected his length and extraterrestrial qualities into the game. OKC swung the series playing its style. It felt like that every step of the way. — Joel Lorenzi, Thunder writer
The Spurs need the best out of Victor Wembanyama every night to win this battle of titans, but it’s just not happening. He has been great at times, but has struggled to impose himself at others.
Credit to Isaiah Hartenstein, who has played the best defense on Wembanyama that we’ve seen. He’s not letting Wemby get to spots comfortably or drive toward the rim. He’s not even letting Wemby get off those long-step floaters at an angle that’s comfortable. Wembanyama is struggling to even tip rebounds to his teammates. All of it has been difficult for Wemby and the Spurs to pull off consistently.
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Meanwhile, the Thunder are winning the majority of the 50/50 plays and have a clearer sense of how they want to execute offensively. The Spurs keep taking the bait on the gaps the Thunder defense does yield, then watching the ball get deflected or even intercepted. San Antonio’s half-court offense continues to operate in a tangle of Thunder defenders that has taken the Spurs out of their comfort zone.
Wembanyama is the person who can break through this, but it didn’t happen in Game 5. They now need it from him two games in a row if the Spurs want to turn this series around, but it hasn’t happened so far against the best defense in the game.
The Spurs haven’t had a true Tier A individual creator this year. They have some really good ones who have been able to thrive in the aggregate. But that hasn’t cut it against the Thunder in the conference finals; it probably won’t in the end.
Somebody — namely Wemby — has to prove they can step up to that level. Because Gilgeous-Alexander already has. — Jared Weiss, Spurs writer
Missing Williams and Mitchell — two of the Thunder’s best creators — sidelined for a second straight game, the Thunder needed other sources of offense in a critical Game 5.
Alex Caruso, who played well for the Thunder in the first three games of their Western Conference finals series, rose to the occasion, scoring 22 points. It was the fourth time in the last five games that Caruso has scored at least 15 points.
Four of Caruso’s five made field goals Tuesday were 3-pointers — a continuation of the hot shooting he’s provided over the past few weeks. His corner 3 with 5:14 remaining pushed the Thunder ahead by 14 points and provided a punctuation mark to the win.
It was a bounce-back game from the two-time NBA champion Caruso, who was held scoreless in Game 4. Now, all the Thunder and Caruso need to do to advance to the NBA Finals is beat the Spurs one more time. Caruso’s offense was badly needed Tuesday — and could be again later this week, assuming Williams and Mitchell are still unable to go. — Christian Clark, NBA writer
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