The San Antonio Spurs had some controversial moments toward the end of the Game 5 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Bench players came in for the Spurs faster than the Thunder, and it led to a couple of stiff fouls. Centers Mason Plumlee and Bismack Biyombo both delivered hard fouls to Jared McCain after his great game helped the Thunder get the much-needed victory.
The more controversial foul featured Plumlee delivering a stiff hit to the back of McCain during a screen that sent him to the floor. Oklahoma City’s coaches and players wanted the referees to look at the play as a hostile act, but they let it go with the game nearing the end anyway with time running out.
Cameras showed Spurs star Victor Wembanyama whispering in the ears of both Plumlee and Biyombo as they entered the game for the final minutes. McCain took another hard foul from Biyombo after the Plumlee hit. Fans accused Wemby of instructing his backup centers to deliver hard fouls on McCain or to Thunder players in general. The timing of the fouls coming after the whispers certainly don’t provide enough proof, but it’s a bad look.
Why Fans Think Victor Wembanyama Did This
Wembanyama is generally loved by NBA fans and is even considered an “ethical hooper” for playing the game the right way. However, many feel it was too coincidental that he specifically said something to the two players that started to deliver aggressive fouls with the game out of hand.
Online comments featured the belief that the Spurs wanted to hurt McCain ahead of Game 6 due to his incredible performances in multiple games this series. McCain was an afterthought entering the postseason barely in the Thunder rotation, but he’s stepped up this series with the injuries to Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell last few games.
Scoring totals of 20 points and 24 points in the last two Oklahoma City victories showed how important McCain is to the team. The Spurs could have tried to give him some pain heading into Game 6, like how old school teams would do in the 1990s with vicious fouls.
Why Thunder Deserve Some Blame Too
The Oklahoma City side of things sees multiple things that one could tie to playing a role in this escalating. McCain stayed in the game longer than every other starter, despite other top players being removed once the game was out of hand to prioritize their health.
Another interesting variable is the Thunder reputation for being the team that most gets away with hard fouls. Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, and a few others are accused of being dirty since referees often give the benefit of the doubt to the defending NBA Champions.
Wembanyama could have wanted his expendable teammates to give some hard fouls to give Oklahoma City a taste of their own medicine. Regardless of the intent or if Wemby even instructed it, the Spurs did look bad for delivering cheap shots. McCain beat them all night, and they tried to get revenge with fouling instead of winning.
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