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The Oklahoma City Thunder are just one win away from a second consecutive NBA Finals berth. The Western Conference Finals shifted back to Oklahoma City on Tuesday night, with the defending league champions pulling away in the second half for a 127-114 victory in Game 5.
The reigning two-time NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points and nine assists Tuesday night.
Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 24 points and five rebounds, while Victor Wembanyama finished with a series-low 20 points.
Entering Tuesday, the Spurs appeared to follow a relatively simple formula for success in the Western Conference Finals: When Wembanyama was the best player on the floor, they won. When he wasn’t, they lost.
Wembanyama, who delivered 41- and 33-point performances in the Spurs’ two wins earlier in the series, never appeared to fully find his rhythm in Game 5. He was 4 for 15 from the floor, missing all five of his 3-point attempts.
He offered an impassioned speech to teammates during a timeout barely two minutes into the third quarter, after the Thunder opened an 18-point lead. And it worked — to a point. Oklahoma City scored again to get the lead up to 20, but the Spurs closed within eight later in the third.
Elsewhere, the New York Knicks will have to wait until at least Thursday to find out which team emerges from the Western Conference.
Even before Game 5 of the Spurs-Thunder series tipped off, San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson was asked about Knicks fans in Manhattan chanting, “We want Wemby! We want Wemby!”
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“I know New York’s on fire. They won so that city is obviously enjoying it and they’ve had a heck of a playoff run,” Johnson said. “But unfortunately, I’ve been pretty locked-into what we’ve got going right here in front of us.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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