By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points, Alex Caruso led another strong bench effort with 22 and the Oklahoma City Thunder moved one win away from a return trip to the NBA Finals by beating the San Antonio Spurs, 127-114, on Tuesday night.
Jared McCain – getting the call with Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell both sidelined – scored 20 in his first playoff start for the defending NBA champion Thunder, who lead the Western Conference finals 3-2.
Chet Holmgren scored 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder, while Isaiah Hartenstein had a 12-point, 15-rebound night.
The Thunder, who were held to 82 points in a Game 4 loss two days earlier, had 82 points on Tuesday before the third quarter was 3½ minutes old.
“We obviously played a lot better, in terms of our process and then also the outcome,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “It’s a playoff series. If you look at any playoff series that goes to six games, at least, there’s going to be some tough games. We had a tough game the other night. This team does a great job of just coming back in the next day in a very neutral way, taking whatever the lessons are, applying them forward and getting into the next opportunity.”
Stephon Castle scored 24 points for San Antonio, which got 22 points from Julian Champagnie and 20 points from Victor Wembanyama – who was held to 4-of-15 shooting.
Keldon Johnson scored 15 off the bench for the Spurs, who missed 29 of their 41 3-point shots.
“It just felt like it was a little bit of everything in terms of we did not put ourselves in position enough to be successful on each possession,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “And so, to beat a team of this caliber, in their building, with the stakes, we’ll need to be a lot better to give yourself a chance.”
Game 6 is Thursday in San Antonio. If there’s a Game 7, it will be back in Oklahoma City on Saturday – and while this series winds down, the New York Knicks are waiting to see who emerges.
The Knicks will play the Thunder-Spurs winner in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on June 3, with that series starting in the Western Conference city.
Oklahoma City scored 40 points in the second quarter to take control and kept the lead the rest of the way.
“We just played to who we were tonight,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
It took nearly 10 minutes for the first free throws to be awarded. But when the parade to the foul line started, it didn’t stop.
The teams combined to make 29 free throws in the second quarter alone, the most in the second quarter of any NBA game since the bubble playoffs nearly six years ago. It wasn’t a one-sided thing – the Spurs were 15 for 17 in the quarter, the Thunder 14 for 14.
Oklahoma City went ahead by 20 in the third, before San Antonio closed within eight. The Spurs might have had some chances to cut even further into the deficit, but were fuming – and rightly so, it seemed – over some missed calls in the final minute of the quarter.
A tip-in try by San Antonio’s Luke Kornet with about 56 seconds left was knocked off the rim by Oklahoma City’s Cason Wallace and should have been goaltending. And on the next Spurs’ possession, an out-of-bounds call that should have gone their way – replays showed the ball went out off of Holmgren – did not. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson tried to challenge the call, was ignored, then got a technical foul for arguing.
“They just said they didn’t see me,” Johnson said.
After all that, Oklahoma City’s lead was 101-91 going into the fourth. The Thunder kept a double-digit lead for all but 25 seconds of the final quarter – a huge turnaround from a 21-point loss in San Antonio on Sunday.
“We definitely got better from the last game,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
McCAIN DELIVERS
Williams was downgraded to out by the Thunder for Game 5 about an hour before game time Tuesday, after being listed as questionable throughout the day because of his ongoing issues with a strained left hamstring.
Mitchell, who typically starts in Williams’ place, was ruled out earlier by the Thunder with a strained right soleus.
And that created a moment for McCain – who delivered.
“We just thought he could give us some good stuff, just based on where we are right now with a couple guys out,” Daigneault said. “He was really good. … Great mental toughness. I never take it for granted when somebody steps into a role like that in a game like this, but certainly not surprised. He’s got great moxie and confidence and he showed that tonight.”
The former Corona Centennial High star wasn’t shy, either, with his 19 shot attempts in Game 5 tying Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the most on the Thunder.
“Coming into this game, I just literally wanted to play as hard as I can on the offensive end and rebound and everything else will flow,” McCain said after the game, when he disclosed that Daigneault hinted Monday that he would be the starter, then confirmed it to him Tuesday. “Everything else comes together.”
McCain, who scored 18 of his 20 after halftime, was making the first playoff start of his career. He averaged 8.8 points in 12 playoff games off the bench for the Thunder entering Tuesday.
It’s unknown how long he’ll remain in the starting five. Game 6 is Thursday in San Antonio, but his effort Tuesday certainly was one heck of an audition.
Williams returned for Game 1 of the series, scoring 26 points in 37 minutes in Oklahoma City’s 122-115 double-overtime loss. He had four points in seven first-quarter minutes in Game 2, including an alley-oop dunk with 2:12 left in the period, and hasn’t played since.
Williams has now missed 58 of the Thunder’s 95 games this season, including playoffs. Of those absences, 19 were for a right wrist issue and the other 39 were related to his hamstrings – the right one costing him 30 games during the regular season, the left one now costing him nine during the playoffs.
TOUGH SHOOTING NIGHT FOR WEMBY
It’s been a very simple formula for the Spurs in this series. When Wembanyama has been the best player on the court, they win. When he isn’t, they lose.
He wasn’t the best player on the court in Game 5.
That was not the only reason why the Spurs lost Tuesday – there were many – but it was certainly among them. Wembanyama, who has had 41-point and 33-point outings in winning efforts during the series, never seemed to get fully rolling.
They’ll try to extend the matchup – and save their season – in Game 6 on Thursday night back in Texas.
Wembanyama’s 20 points was his lowest output of the series, and only a 12-for-12 effort from the free-throw line helped him get there in Game 5. While shooting 4 for 15 from the floor, he missed all five of his 3-point tries, never seeming to get into any sort of rhythm.
“He’s got to take more than 15 shots, even with the free throws,” Johnson said. “He’s going to have to score more than 20 points, for sure. … OKC did a good job. We’ve got to do a better job.”
Wembanyama did not speak with reporters after the game.
The first halves have told much of the story. In San Antonio’s two wins in this series, Wembanyama has shot 7 for 15 and 6 for 11 from the field. In the three losses, his halftime shot numbers – 2 for 4, 2 for 5 and 2 for 6, the last of those what he did in the first two quarters on Tuesday.
Wembanyama offered an impassioned speech to teammates during a timeout barely two minutes into the third quarter, after the Thunder opened an 18-point lead. And it worked – to a point. Oklahoma City scored again to get the lead up to 20, but the Spurs closed within eight later in the third.
It seemed like there was hope. But the Spurs couldn’t get any closer. The deficit was 10 going into the fourth, the Spurs scored only two points in the first 4:02 of the final quarter, and whatever momentum that seemed like it was building after Wembanyama’s timeout speech appeared to be gone.
And on a night in which the Thunder just kept throwing different bodies – Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren, Jaylin Williams, Alex Caruso and more – along with different looks at Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 French star just didn’t have enough answers.
“It’s a team defense,” Thunder guard Jared McCain said. “We talked about it. We made adjustments to it. We know that when he gets going, their whole team gets going.”
Obviously, the Spurs know what’s coming from the Thunder on Thursday – more of the same. San Antonio has two days to figure out how to counter.
“I think they sent so many bodies towards him, it’s hard at times,” Castle said. “I think he just wants to make the right play and wants to win. … He’s our best player. We need him to be aggressive. I feel like him being aggressive opens up shots for other guys.”