Spurs Miss Huge Opportunity, Lose Game 5 in OKC and Face Elimination in WCF

OKLAHOMA CITY -- In the most important game of the season for both teams, the Spurs looked young and the Thunder looked experienced as the defending champions won Game 5 127-114 to take a 3-2 series lead.

OKC's MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got back on track with 32 points and 9 assists, while San Antonio's All-Star pairing of Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox shot a combined 8-30 from the floor and 0-9 from beyond the arc. Stephon Castle led San Antonio with 24 points. The Thunder, meanwhile, shot 44% from 3 as a team.

The Spurs missed plenty of good looks from all over the floor, turned the ball over too many times, and conceded too many open shots after a defensive masterclass in Game 4. It felt like a golden opportunity to take advantage of a Thunder team without two key players in Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell, but San Antonio missed so many opportunities throughout the game that it all slipped through their fingers.

"There's a lot of things all over the place where even when we had the energy, we just didn't make simple plays that take advantage of the opportunity in that possession, and in this type of game you got to be sure of everything you're doing in a very secure, mature way," said Spurs coach Mitch Johnson.

Sharpshooter Julian Champagnie has struggled a bit from distance in this series, but he scored 13 points in a row for the Spurs in the early going as he knocked down three triples and dunked while attacking a closeout. He finished the game with 22 points.

"I think they were more desperate team tonight," Champagnie said. "I thought they wanted the game more than we did."

SGA didn't have the answer when asked after Game 4 how the Thunder could get Chet Holmgren involved in the offense more, and in Game 5 the 7-foot-1 floor spacer knocked down some shots in the first quarter.

The Spurs held Shai to 1-5 shooting and three turnovers in the first quarter, but he still scored 7 points as he got to the line. He played the entire first quarter, and OKC led 29-27 after one.

The Thunder opened the second quarter on a 10-3 run as the Spurs struggled with ball security and the home team whipped the ball around with Shai off the floor to generate open shots. They built their lead up to double digits as the MVP caught a breather.

San Antonio responded with a 9-0 run as they attacked the basket and tightened the screws defensively. Wembanyama blocked Chet Holmgren, Steph Castle picked Shai's pocket. The home team's lead evaporated in two minutes flat, but they fought back almost as fast.

Oklahoma City led 69-58 at halftime. SGA scored 19 in the first half, as many as he did in the entirety of the Game 4 blowout in San Antonio. Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama looked a step slow in the first half, and couldn't really get anything going offensively.

Things got worse for San Antonio as OKC started the second half with a 9-0 run to build their biggest lead of the game at 20 points. Mid-season acquisition Jared McCain started the game for the Thunder, and hit some huge shots at the start of the third quarter.

The Spurs run started with defense, which led to open shots in transition, which finally started to fall for the visitors. Wembanyama found Keldon Johnson in the corner for 3, then Johnson found Castle at the top for a deep 3, then Castle found Vassell in the corner for 3 as the Thunder called time.

De'Aaron Fox started to shake off a rough start shooting the ball, canning a couple of mid-range jumpers off the bounce. Vassell nailed a 3 through a foul, then Champagnie went right through Holmgren once again for a layup.

The Spurs disagreed with an out of bounds call, and Mitch Johnson called for a review before the ball was inbounded but his request was ignored. Johnson argued vociferously, and got T'd up by Tony Brothers.

Mitch Johnson tried to call a timeout to challenge the call, the refs completely ignored him and he was PISSED.

The Spurs bench was then given a technical for stepping onto the court while the ball was in play.

That tech goes towards Mitch Johnson. pic.twitter.com/tTDsaeFYTv
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) May 27, 2026

On free throws with a few seconds left in the third, Wembanyama grabbed a board, got fouled, and hit the free throws to make it a 10-point deficit heading to the fourth quarter.

The Spurs' defense kept forcing missed shots and turnovers, but they failed to convert their opportunities on the other end.

Wembanyama put his head down and did his best to impact the game at the rim, putting back a miss and driving in for free throws.

Wembanyama and Vassell forced a miss by Shai, Fox got going in transition and found the middle of the paint for a jumper to cut it to single digits. Vassell missed a layup on a cut, McCain drilled a 3 the other way, and that 5-point swing put OKC back up 13.

Keldon Johnson did his best to swing the game with energy and second-chance points, but OKC's firepower proved too much in the end. If the Spurs want to advance to the NBA Finals, they'll need to win Thursday night's Game 6 in San Antonio and a Game 7 on the road against the defending champs.

"Find a way back here for Game 7," Stephon Castle said afterward about the mentality moving forward. "I thought we've been great when we're desperate all year, so I'm excited to see how we'll respond."

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