Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder past the San Antonio Spurs 127-114 in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals early Tuesday morning (Vietnam time). The victory brings the Thunder one step closer to the NBA Finals, as they now lead the series 3-2 with two games remaining.
The game was played at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder faced a sluggish start. San Antonio jumped out to an eight-point lead in the first quarter, but the Thunder still won the period thanks to a strong effort from their bench players.
After the first quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 12 points in the second, helping the Thunder pour in 40 points and take a comfortable lead. The blue-shirted team maintained a lead of up to 20 points in the third quarter, even as the Spurs cut it to eight at the end of the period. However, Oklahoma City made timely adjustments and regained control of the game.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a two-time NBA MVP, said after the game: "I probably had the worst start in my basketball career, but the whole team stayed steady and brought us back into the game. Somehow, we still won the first quarter, which shows the spirit of the guys in the locker room. We are a unit from 1 to 15, and we couldn't go deep in the season without any of them. That was proven again tonight."
Besides Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder had five players score in double digits. Alex Caruso came off the bench to score 22 points with four three-pointers, and Jared McCain added 20 points. Chet Holmgren contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Isaiah Hartenstein had 12 points and 15 rebounds.
For San Antonio, Victor Wembanyama scored 20 points but made only 4 of 15 shots and grabbed just six rebounds — a disappointing performance compared to expectations. Devin Vassell also struggled, scoring just six points on 2-of-11 shooting after averaging 17 points in the first four games of the series.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson criticized his team's turnovers throughout the game and called on Wembanyama to play more aggressively. "To beat a team like this on the road with what's at stake, you need to be much better to have a chance. He needs to take more than 15 shots and score more than 20 points for sure," Johnson said.
Oklahoma City will travel to San Antonio for Game 6 on Thursday morning (Vietnam time). If they win, the Thunder will close out the series and advance to the NBA Finals; the Spurs must win to force a Game 7.
