The Oklahoma City Thunder can punch their ticket to a second straight NBA Finals when they face the San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Oklahoma City leads the best-of-seven series 3-2 after a decisive Game 5 victory.
Meanwhile, the New York Knicks, who locked up the Eastern Conference crown earlier this week, wait for an opponent ahead of their first Finals appearance since 1999.
History favors Oklahoma City
This is the seventh time the Thunder have taken a 3-2 edge after winning Game 5 of a 2-2 series; they closed out the previous six. San Antonio, on the other hand, has lost Game 5 in a 2-2 matchup 10 times and has rallied to win the series only once, back in the 2008 conference semifinals against New Orleans.
What the Thunder need
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league’s back-to-back MVP, has been contained so far, averaging 26.2 points on 38.8% shooting. Despite the attention, he is distributing at a career-best postseason clip with 8.2 assists per game, including 9.8 in this series. The Thunder still are without starters Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell, increasing the pressure on their star guard.
Oklahoma City has compensated with unexpected offense from Alex Caruso. The 32-year-old guard is scoring 17.0 points per game in the conference finals, highlighted by 31 points in the double-overtime Game 1 win and 22 in Game 5. Four of his eight highest-scoring playoff games have come in this matchup.
What the Spurs need
San Antonio’s hopes rest on Victor Wembanyama. The All-NBA center produced 41 points and 24 rebounds in the Game 1 victory and 33 points in the Game 4 win, but attempted only 15 shots in Game 5. “He’s got to take more than 15 shots,” head coach Mitch Johnson said after Tuesday’s loss. Wembanyama went to the line 12 times in that game but finished with fewer than 20 points.
Defensively, the 22-year-old must reassert himself; Oklahoma City shot 49% while he was on the court in Game 5, the highest mark any opponent has managed against him this postseason, according to ESPN Research.
Number to watch
In San Antonio’s two wins, Wembanyama averaged 14.5 attempts inside five feet and converted 69% of them. In the three losses, those figures dropped to 5.3 attempts and 63% accuracy.
Scouts’ view
League scouts interviewed by ESPN praised Wembanyama’s Game 1 outburst but questioned the Spurs’ perimeter shooting and overall depth. They also noted that the winner of this bruising series could arrive in the Finals drained, potentially giving the rested Knicks an edge.
The Thunder enter Thursday unbeaten in the series close-out scenario so far this postseason, while the upstart Spurs need another marquee performance from their generational center to force a winner-take-all Game 7 in Oklahoma City.
Source: ESPN
