Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shook off a sluggish start to pour in 32 points, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 127-114 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, moving the defending champions within one win of a return to the NBA Finals.
Despite missing his first four shots, Gilgeous-Alexander found his rhythm with five straight points to erase an early eight-point deficit. The Thunder took an 11-point lead into halftime and opened the third quarter with nine unanswered points to seize control of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.
Gilgeous-Alexander shot just 7-of-19 from the field but was a perfect 16-of-17 from the free-throw line. "If it was four or five of me out there, we would've been down 20 after the first quarter," he said with a laugh. "[I] probably should never start like that again."
Jared McCain, inserted into the lineup for Cason Wallace, struggled early but erupted for 18 points after halftime to finish with 20. Alex Caruso bounced back from a scoreless Game 4 with 22 points.
San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama tallied 20 points and six rebounds, but after averaging 20.5 boards in the first two games, he has managed just 18 over the last three. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson called for more from the rookie sensation. "He's going to have to take more than 15 shots even with the free throws. He's going to have to score more than 20 points for sure."
Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 24 points, and Julian Champagnie added 22.
Oklahoma City can clinch the series in Game 6 on Thursday in San Antonio. The New York Knicks have already secured their spot in the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers.