Center Victor Wembanyama suffered his worst performance of the playoffs yet, and the San Antonio Spurs are one loss away from elimination as the Oklahoma City Thunder won Game 5 of the Western Conference finals 127-114 on Tuesday night in Oklahoma City. The superstar made just four field goals as the Thunder nailed 44% of their 3-point attempts to take a 3-2 series lead.
San Antonio built an early eight-point lead through the elite shotmaking of forward Julian Champagnie. Both Wembanyama and Oklahoma City’s star, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, had quiet first periods, as Champagnie and Thunder forward Chet Holmgren led their respective squads instead. Inexperience hampered the Spurs in the second quarter; the fresh-faced guards faltered under Oklahoma City’s vaunted defense and turned the ball over repeatedly. Wembanyama remained in the back seat offensively, scoring one field goal in the second quarter as the Thunder increased its lead to 11 points at the halftime break. A 9-0 spurt at the onset of the second half increased the Thunder lead to 20 points before Wembanyama could score his third basket of the game.
As the Spurs continued to concentrate on Gilgeous-Alexander defensively and send consistent double-teams at the guard, the 3-point opportunities opened up for his Thunder counterparts. The defensive strategy was effective for San Antonio in Game 4 because the Thunder made six of their 33 attempts. On Tuesday, the long-distance shots swished over and over again, with seven different Thunder players connecting from deep. The modern-day NBA strategy of “live or die by the 3-pointer” could not be more evident in the difference between Games 4 and 5 of this series.
Postgame discussion surrounded an officiating controversy, as referees ignored Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson’s call for a challenge on a missed kicked ball violation by Holmgren and issued him a technical foul for complaining. At that point in the third quarter, the Spurs had cut the deficit to 10 points and replays showed that, if acknowledged, Johnson’s challenge would have been successful and returned possession to San Antonio. The criticism stemming from this instance piled on to the rampant narrative of officiating bias towards Thunder players.
Wembanyama was notably absent from media obligations after his disappointing performance. While the French star could not convert many of his field goal attempts, Wembanyama shot 12-for-12 from the free throw line to contribute 20 points overall, adding six rebounds and three blocks. Guard Stephon Castle led San Antonio with 24 points, and Champagnie scored 22 points with four made 3-pointers. The Spurs lost the rebounding battle 48-41 and only shot 40% from the field as a team. Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 32 points and nine assists.
The Spurs face a must-win game on Thursday, as the teams return to the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio for Game 6 of the Western Conference finals, tipping off at 7:30 p.m. on NBC.
