After last night’s win against the Spurs, everyone is pointing fingers at the refs for being biased towards the Thunder. Call after call, the refs gave the Thunder the advantage. For example, in the 4th Quarter, Victor Wembanyama dribbled the ball off Chet Holmgren’s foot and it went out of bounds. Then, the refs call it Thunder ball, so Mitch Johnson decides to challenge it. The refs ignore his challenge and give him a technical for complaining. I’m not saying the refs are rigging it, but Adam Silver has some serious conversations to have about the refereeing in this series.
OKC 127 - San Antonio 114 (3-2)
What happened?
OKC came out aggressive and ready to play from the opening tip, a completely different story than in Game 4. SGA was back to putting up MVP numbers with his impactful 32 points and 9 assists. He also shot 17 free throws. Throughout the game, the Spurs had moments, but every time they tried to get momentum, OKC always had an answer. Alex Caruso led the second rotation with 22 points and 3 steals. OKC just did not miss a shot throughout this game. It’s hard to get back into the game when your opponents are shooting 48% from the field and 44% from three. That is unstoppable. Now I see why SGA walked off the court laughing in Game 4, he knew how good his team was. That’s what made him so confident.
What does it mean?
San Antonio is one loss away from going home. That’s the reality. They won Game 4 by 21 points but Game 5 highlighted that when both teams are at their best, OKC are simply the better team. If the Spurs don’t pull something together and win on their own floor, they’re heading home before the party really gets started. Yet again, momentum has shifted back to OKC and San Antonio really needs to find an answer.
How can San Antonio respond?
If the Thunder come back down to earth from behind the arc, the Spurs have a chance. Last night, the Thunder shot 44% from three, in the biggest game of the year. That is just insane. On the other side, the Spurs shot a below par 29% from deep. If these two numbers begin to even up we can see a far more competitive Game 6, and if the Spurs win that game it goes to seven. Then, anything can happen.
What’s next?
Game 6. Thursday night in San Antonio. 1:30am UK time. The Spurs are 57.3% favorites on their own court. Win and it goes to a Game 7 in OKC where anything can happen, lose and you go home. San Antonio’s whole season depends on this game.
Daily Recap
NBA
Thunder 127 - 114 Spurs (3-2)
NHL
Avalanche 1 - 2 Golden Knights (0-4)
MLB
Yankees 15 - 1 Royals
Pirates 12 - 1 Cubs
Padres 3 - 4 Phillies
Dodgers 15 - 6 Rockies
Rangers 10 - 7 Astros
Golden Knights 2 - Avalanche 1 (4-0)
The Las Vegas Golden Knights are going to the Stanley Cup Finals. They swept Colorado 4-o, the Presidents’ Trophy Winners, the best team in the NHL all season, eliminated without even stealing a game in the Conference Finals. It was a complete embarrassment for the Avalanche. Vegas came back from 3-0 down in Game 3 and never looked the back. Now they just wait for who comes out of the East. Carolina lead Montreal 2-1 with Game 3 tonight at 1am UK time in Montreal.