Thunder Bring the Rain: OKC Shrugs Off Amnesia, Puts Spurs on Brink of Extinction
Thunder Bring the Rain: OKC Shrugs Off Amnesia, Puts Spurs on Brink of Extinction
Well, that escalated quickly.
Just 48 hours after the Oklahoma City Thunder offense looked like a group of guys trying to play basketball in a dark closet during a power outage—mustering a pitiful 82 points in Game 4—the defending champs remembered they are, in fact, the defending champs. In Tuesday night's 127-114 shellacking of the San Antonio Spurs, OKC matched that entire Game 4 total before the third quarter was even three and a half minutes old. Talk about a glow-up.
With the 3-2 series lead secured, the Thunder are now just one win away from a return trip to the NBA Finals, where the New York Knicks are currently sitting on the couch, eating popcorn, and waiting to see who survives this Western Conference meat grinder.
SGA Does MVP Things, Caruso Explodes
With Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell still chilling on the injury report, the Thunder needed someone not named Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to throw the ball into the ocean. Enter Alex Caruso. After putting up a glorious cardio session in Game 4 (zero points), Caruso went absolutely nuclear off the bench, snoring 22 points and nailing four crucial 3-pointers.
As for SGA? Just a casual, ho-hum night at the office: 32 points, nine assists, and a complete monopoly on the mid-range.
“We just played to who we were tonight,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after the game, showing the kind of calm, cool demeanor that makes you think he clears his browser history after every single session.
Let's also give some love to rookie Jared McCain, who got the surprise start, grew a pair of playoff stones, and chipped in 20 points (or 17, depending on which official stat sheet you believe, but hey, who's counting when you're winning?).
The Box Score Breakdown
The Thunder didn't just win; they flexed their muscles across the entire roster:
Player Points Rebounds / Assists The Vibe
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 32 9 ASTSmooth Operator
Alex Caruso 22 4-5 from 3PM Ultimate Bounce-Back
Jared McCain 20 / 17 Gutsy Shotmaking Rookie? What Rookie?
Chet Holmgren 16 11 REB Twin Tower Dominance
Isaiah Hartenstein 12 15 REB Wembanyama's Worst Nightmare
Wemby Grounded by the Hype-Stopper
Speaking of the extraterrestrial French alien, Victor Wembanyama looked human. Very human. Isaiah Hartenstein spent the evening playing the role of an annoying younger sibling—suffocating Wemby, denying him his favorite long-step floaters, and holding him to a miserable 4-of-15 shooting performance (including 0-for-5 from downtown).
Wemby still finished with 20 points because he’s eight feet tall and gets fouled by breathing, but he never truly stamped his footprint on the game. Stephon Castle did his best to carry the load with 24 points, but when your team misses 29 of its 41 attempts from beyond the arc, you're toast.
Whistles, Blindspots, and a Whack-a-Mole Second Quarter
If you like free throws, the second quarter was your version of heaven. The teams combined for a ridiculous 29 free throws in that frame alone—OKC went a perfect 14-of-14, while the Spurs hit 15-of-17. It was the most whistle-happy quarter since the 2020 Disney Bubble, back when we all washed our groceries.
But the real comedy came in the third. After the Spurs clawed back within eight, the refs seemingly decided to play a game of "blind man's bluff."
First, Cason Wallace clearly goaltended a Luke Kornet tip-in off the rim. No call.
Next play, Chet Holmgren clearly deflected a ball out of bounds. OKC ball.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson tried to challenge, got completely ignored by the officiating crew like a bad Tinder match, and subsequently swallowed a technical foul for screaming into the void.
“They just said they didn't see me,” a deadpan Johnson said postgame. Note to Mitch: Next time, wear high-vis orange.
Next Stop: Alamo City
The Thunder took care of business, survived the refereeing chaos, and kept a double-digit lead for essentially the entire fourth quarter.
Game 6 heads back to San Antonio on Thursday. If Wemby doesn't find his spaceship by then, the Spurs will be booking flights to Cancun, and OKC will be packing their bags for Madison Square Garden.
