Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs 127-114 to move within one win of a return to the NBA Finals.
The defending champions Thunder punished an error-strewn performance by San Antonio to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals.
Spurs star Victor Wembanyama had a miserable shooting night, making just four of 15 field-goal attempts for 20 points, while grabbing only six rebounds.
Alex Caruso scored 22 off the bench, including four three-pointers, for the Thunder and Jared McCain added 20. Chet Holmgren had 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Isaiah Hartenstein contributed 12 points and 15 rebounds.
“I’ve been saying it all year – we’re a group of one through 15, and we wouldn’t be this deep in the season without everybody on the team, and it showed again,” two-time league Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander added.
“We made adjustments after the last game and applied what we learned.”
The Thunder led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson called on Wembanyama to take a more aggressive approach in Game Six on Friday (HK time).
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
