By Oliver Carter
The Oklahoma City Thunder won game five of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs to take a 3-2 series lead, putting one foot in the NBA Finals.
The Thunder won 114-127 at home in the Paycom Center, Oklahoma on Tuesday night.
After a dismal game four performance, the OKC Thunder needed a bounce-back win on their home court.
A feat they managed in style, going from game four where they had their lowest scoring game of the playoffs so far with 82, the first time under 100 during this year’s playoffs, to game five where they had the highest-scoring game of the series so far.
MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has struggled all series, having multiple possessions where he has been double, triple and occasionally quadruple-teamed by the Spurs defenders.
Gilgeous-Alexander had a bit of a struggle with his efficiency once again but that didn’t stop him – he scored 32 points, nine assists, two steals and a block.
Incredible support
Alex Caruso has continued to be an incredible supporting piece in this series as he had 22 points, six assists and three steals.
Before this series, Caruso’s playoff career high was 20 points, a mark he has surpassed twice in this series already.
OKC promoted mid-season acquisition Jared McCain to the starting lineup for the first time in his playoff career, a decision that did not pay off in the first half.
McCain had two points on one of five shooting at the half but came out firing as he scored 18 points in the second half.
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San Antonio need to bounce back
With the Thunder holding a 3-2 lead, the Spurs have to be perfect and not put a foot wrong if they want to take down the reigning champs and reach the finals.
Victor Wembanyama had a great game five based on anyone else’s standards – when you’re arguably the best player in the world you are held to a different level.
Wembanyama had 20 points, six rebounds, two steals and three blocks – however, he shot 4/15 from the field and 0/5 from three-point range.
An occasional drop in consistency is the biggest flaw in the Frenchman’s game.
His defence will never disappear but the games where he struggles from the field are usually games the Spurs end up losing.
San Antonio will also need to improve their three-point shooting as the team shot 29.3% in game five compared to the Thunder’s 43.8%.
Looking to game six
With the series heading back to San Antonio, the Spurs will have to rally behind their home fans to force a game seven and give themselves a chance at reaching the finals.
Wembanyama will need a big scoring night, or if the Thunder aim to shut him down, try to create as many open shots from his team-mates as possible using his offensive gravity.
OKC will look to get Gilgeous-Alexander going early – he has struggled in the opening quarters of many games this series and the moments where the MVP struggles are the moments the Spurs grow their lead.
While the Thunder can afford to lose one game of the possible two remaining, the New York Knicks have a lot of rest as they swept their series.
The extra days of rest and recovery a game six close-out would bring would be a huge help before the finals.
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