The San Antonio Spurs have been pushed by the defending champions to the edge of elimination, and will now return to Frost Bank Center, trying to hold it off on Thursday. They didn’t get enough from Victor Wembanyama who only scored 20 points on 26.7 percent shooting, with seven rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox had nine points on the same efficiency, plus the team eventually started gambling too much on defense.
They were working too hard while the Thunder played more forcefully, and their ball movement plus dribble penetration exposed more openings. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the best player, and seized the day with a masterful performance while his team was without significant firepower.
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Observations
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The pressure in the first quarter was unforgiving, but they loosened up, and while it wasn’t terrible, it allowed enough breathing room for SGA and Jared McCain (in the third) to get hot. The team subsequently got back to its ways at times, when they weren’t fouling, but Stephon Castle and Keldon Johnson picked up their fifth fouls early in the fourth, which gravely affected coverages. Notably, coach Mitch Johnson kept K. Johnson in after his.
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The second quarter was rough since Alex Caruso got MVP chants, and they allowed too many free throw attempts, which cut the flow of their offense and they had to play too much in the half-court after scoring a good chunk in transition in the first. They had a brief spurt of success, going on a 9-0 run that included K. Johnson powering through Holmgren at the rim, yet couldn’t sustain it because of more fouls and went to halftime down 11 points.
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Carter Bryant hustles like the rent is due at midnight, but he can be his own worst enemy by trying to do too much on defense. He committed a foolish foul on SGA, putting him on the line after giving up a 3-pointer. He wasn’t in control and that’s why he played fewer than three minutes before garbage time.
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Julian Champagnie had the hot hand in the first quarter, scoring 13 of the team’s 27 points, and he helped the them get over multiple droughts. His most impressive move was driving against Holmgren and finishing against him on the baseline. On top of that, Champagnie and K. Johnson were the only Spurs to log at least three first-half field goals.
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San Antonio’s bench didn’t do enough, aside from K. Johnson, since OKC’s outscored theirs by seven when McCain started and Ajay Mitchell didn’t play. Still, it was Johnson’s multiple treys and hustle that was critical in making the game competitive again in the second half.
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The team initially struggled to pressure Holmgren with smaller players while Wemby played help defense. But Holmgren got weaker as the game went on.
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The Thunder have not lost consecutive games in the playoffs. On top of that, teams that lead a best-of-seven series 3-2 advance 84 percent of the time, per the NBA’s Facts and Figures.
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The Spurs’ rebounding had been a big factor in their wins, but they got beat on the boards by nine and they permitted 26 second-chance points in Game 5.
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Turnovers were a problem early, and while it was just an OK night in ball security, timely misses emerged as the late problem, like when Devin Vassell, who was a non offensive factor, missed a layup, and McCain raced down the court fro a transition triple to put OKC ahead by 13 points with six minutes left.
