Spurs at Thunder Game 5: Three Takeaways From Oklahoma City's Impressive Bounce-Back Win to Take 3–2 Lead
Tuesday's result provided a stark reminder to the NBA: The Thunder are still the champions for a reason.
Two nights after a rough 21-point road loss in which their offense went completely cold, Oklahoma City dusted itself off and put together an impressive two-way performance to beat the Spurs 127–114, with reigning two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way. He was aided by an impressive set of performances by the deep cast of contributors with which general manager Sam Presti has surrounded him.
Now it's the Spurs' turn to prove they can do the same. San Antonio was riding high after Game 4, but came crashing down to earth in Oklahoma City. After a superb Game 4, Victor Wembanyama was held to an inefficient 20 points (4-for-15 shooting), with 12 of them coming from the free throw line, and just six rebounds. The Spurs managed to stay in the game well into the fourth quarter despite a tough shooting night, but it rarely felt as if they were in position to truly challenge OKC.
After a statement win in which the Thunder took a 3–2 series lead, here are our three most significant takeaways from Tuesday's game.
Thunder display their maturity, resilience in bounce-back win
The Spurs' lack of playoff experience has been a running theme throughout this postseason, in large part because of how readily they've answered the bell every time they've faced adversity. However, Game 5 laid bare the difference in meaningful experience between this young San Antonio team and a veteran Thunder squad that has been through the ups-and-downs of a lengthy playoff run.
OKC played a dreadful Game 4 in San Antonio, scoring just 82 points-the franchise's lowest output since the dregs of the 2021–22 season, in which they went just 24–58. Some teams would still be showing the aftereffects of a performance like that two days later. Not the reigning champs.
Oklahoma City bounced right back Thursday, following up its worst offensive outing in years with its best of the Western Conference finals. The Thunder shot 48% from the field and 44% from three-point range, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 32 points. Alex Caruso, held scoreless in Game 4, had 22 off the bench and knocked down four triples. Chet Holmgren struggled against his arch-nemesis Wembanyama on Sunday, but had a solid 16-point, 11-rebound outing, while his frontcourt mate Isaiah Hartenstein continued to make Wemby work, posting a +24 plus/minus on the night. Jared McCain, a Game 3 hero, scored 20 points after chipping in just four points on Sunday. He has been on this team only a few months, but he fits right in.
No matter what happens in Game 6 and Game 7 (if there is one), the Spurs are well ahead of schedule. But as long as these Thunder are around, there will be more to do.
Victor Wembanyama looked out of gas in rough Game 5 showing
Wembanyama was nothing less than spectacular in Game 4's 33-point outing to even the series heading back to Oklahoma City. The added effort of that performance seemed to be weighing him down in Tuesday night's Game 5.
The superstar big man had arguably his worst showing of the postseason so far. Wemby finished with 20 points on 4-for-15 shooting and missed all five of his three-point attempts; 12 of his points came from the free-throw line. He grabbed just six rebounds, which serves as one strong indicator he didn't have his legs under him, and wasn't nearly as impactful as a defender as we've become accustomed to seeing.
Even the best players have bad games in the playoffs. And let's not forget, this is the 22-year-old star's first playoff run. He is learning firsthand how much of a factor fatigue can be. But it's undeniable that (fatigue) is, indeed, a factor. The Thunder defense is exceptionally physical, and every replay NBC showed of Wembanyama going up for rebounds also showed every OKC defender in his vicinity grabbing his jersey and generally working to wear him down. It's an unquantifiable statistic, but Wemby just looked out of gas tonight.
The series isn't over, and every subpar game by Wembanyama's standards has been followed by a tremendous bounce-back performance. After he allowed the Timberwolves to steal Game 1 in San Antonio in the second round, Wembanyama had 19 points and 15 rebounds the next time out. In this very series, Game 4 served as a bounce-back performance after he got pushed around in Game 3. Wembanyama can and probably will respond.
But tonight? He just didn't have it, and the Spurs weren't able to pick up the slack. And now Wembanyama's back is against the wall, with possible elimination looming only two days from now. He better rest up.
The referees did not have a banner night
The loud segment of NBA fans who relentlessly criticize the league's officiating got a ton of ammo tonight. This crew was brutal and missed several significant calls that might have wound up deciding the game if the Thunder hadn't pulled away in the final minutes.
The most obvious snafu was actually defensible-the Mitch Johnson challenge situation. The Spurs wanted to challenge an out-of-bounds call near the end of the third quarter but weren't able to do so immediately because the officials huddled to make the call. Then they said it was out on San Antonio, whereas replays showed it went off OKC big man Chet Holmgren.
Johnson twirled his finger for a challenge, but the refs ignored him, leading to an explosive show of frustration from the Spurs coach and a technical foul. In this scenario, the rule states that Johnson must actually call timeout before initiating a challenge; the fact that he didn't means the officials were right to not allow the challenge by the letter of the law. But, of course, it wouldn't have happened if they called it correctly the first time!
The Thunder got away with this out-of-bounds call going against the Spurs.
- ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 27, 2026
The refs then ignored Mitch Johnson trying to challenge, and handed him a tech for complaining. pic.twitter.com/aWkd0bS8CH
The game was littered with referee mistakes. There was a very obvious missed goaltend in the second half on a Cason Wallace rebound. They had to call a jump ball at one point because they couldn't figure out whether the Spurs or Thunder knocked it out of bounds (replay showed Isaiah Hartenstein clearly slapped it toward the sideline, a motion that somehow went missed).
And, as is the case with most OKC games, there was the flopping. The refs fell for multiple exaggerated motions by the Thunder to draw fouls, the worst one being this move by Jaylin Williams in which the backup center ran directly into Keldon Johnson then threw himself backward. A foul was called … on Johnson. It put Jared McCain throwing himself to the ground and earning a foul on Dylan Harper to shame.
OKC knows they can just fall and the refs will blow the whistle pic.twitter.com/501lF8FQB2
- BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) May 27, 2026
Even if it's easy to pick apart particular calls with the benefit of replay and hindsight, anyone watching would agree the game had zero flow after the first quarter. The referees were quick to blow the whistle in a way that dragged down the pace, and the two teams combined to shoot 70 free throws. Seventy! SGA shooting 12 free throws is expected, but Alex Caruso and Stephon Castle combining to shoot 15 is not. With the physicality permitted in the playoffs to this point, it's not just unfair to the players but absolutely nonsensical to revert to a regular-season whistle-but that's exactly what the refs did tonight.
Officiating an NBA playoff game is a hard job, but tonight fell below the league's standards and made it a worse viewing experience.
Miss Tuesday's game? Relive all of the big moments with our live updates below.
NBA playoffs: Spurs at Thunder Game 5 live updates, stats, scores
How to watch Spurs at Thunder Game 5
NBC will air tonight's Game 5 from Oklahoma City, with tip-off set for 8:30 p.m. ET. The game will also be streamed live on Peacock.
Mike Tirico will be on the call for the game, with Reggie Miller and Jamal Crawford serving as analysts and Zora Stephenson and Ashley ShahAhmadi serving as courtside reporters.
How the Spurs, Thunder got here
The Thunder picked up right where they left off after winning the 2025 NBA title. OKC posted a league-best 64–18 record to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and proceeded to sweep their way to the Western Conference finals, knocking off the No. 8 Suns and No. 4 Lakers in four games apiece.
The Spurs were the Thunder's foil in the regular season, finishing 62–20 with a 4–1 head-to-head record against Oklahoma City. They had a little more trouble early on in the playoffs, but just barely, beating the No. 7 Trail Blazers in five games and the No. 6 Timberwolves in six, dominating Games 5 and 6 in the second-round series.
San Antonio won an instant classic in Game 1 of the WCF, outlasting the Thunder 122–115 in double-overtime. Victor Wembanyama, who averaged under 30 minutes per game during the regular season, was on the floor for 49 minutes, putting up 41 points, 24 rebounds and three blocks.
OKC punched right back, with SGA dropping 30 points in a 122–113 Game 2 victory. The series moved to San Antonio for Game 3, and the Thunder took back control of home court advantage with a strong 123–108 win. OKC's bench came up huge, with Jared McCain scoring 24, Jaylin Williams chipping in 18 and Alex Caruso going for 15 in the win.
Game 4 proved the Spurs' resolve. Wembanyama, who had not been as aggressive in Games 2 and 3, scored 33 points with eight rebounds and three blocks, drilling a halfcourt shot to end the half. San Antonio put the clamps on OKC's deep rotation, holding them to 33% shooting from the floor and 18% from three.
More NBA From Sports Illustrated
Listen to SI's NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI's YouTube channel.
- Joe Mazzulla Won Coach of the Year by Guiding Celtics to 56 Wins-But Don't Overlook His Most Impressive Work
- The Cavaliers Are the Best Landing Spot for LeBron
- Jaylen Brown Should Have Been All-NBA First Team
- Where Do the Cavs Go From Here?
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Spurs at Thunder Game 5: Three Takeaways From Oklahoma City's Impressive Bounce-Back Win to Take 3–2 Lead.
Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 6:30 PM.