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My thoughts on a series-tying Game 6 win for the San Antonio Spurs.

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I couched my Game 6 prediction in my last post, understanding that each game can take on its own identity this deep into the playoffs. The San Antonio Spurs seemed exhausted in Game 5, and it was going to be interesting to see what reservoir they would tap into in order to win Game 6 and tie the series back up.

Well, they figured out something. Perhaps it was their raucous home-crowd. Perhaps it was just their competitive nature galvanizing them. Whatever it was, it worked, as the Spurs prevailed over the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-91 on Thursday night.

San Antonio’s three-point barrage in the first quarter was huge in setting the tone for the game. The Spurs knocked down eight treys in the period, while their defense held the Thunder to one made three. Getting out to a 35-22 lead on a juggernaut like Oklahoma City is so important, because you know they’re going to push back eventually.

That push-back came in the second quarter, as OKC won the period 31-25 to close the gap to 60-53 at halftime. But the Spurs managed to storm out of the locker room and have a masterful 32-13 third quarter. That all but cemented their reservations for Seven on Saturday.

Again, I’m not sure what the San Antonio Spurs directly drew from to be this aggressive in Game 6, but this re-found aggression was the major key to victory. Victor Wembanyama bounced back from his rough Game 5 with a game-high 28 points. He went 4-of-9 on his threes, but most importantly got his groove back in the interior, as he went 6-of-11 in the paint.

Dylan Harper (18 points off the bench) and Devin Vassell (12 points) also bounced back and had strong contributions. In Game 5 they combined for 11 points on 3-of-16 shooting. In Game 6 they combined for 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting.

Oklahoma City, meanwhile, felt the brunt of San Antonio’s aggression. The first key is that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had another brutal scoring game. He comes out of Game 6 scoring just 15 points. That’s the fewest points he’s scored in any game since he dropped 14 points in Game 3 of last year’s Conference Finals.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s paltry scoring came off of 6-of-18 shooting from the field while only attempting three free throws (he made all three). Shai was a solid 4-of-8 from mid-range, but went a non-confrontational 2-of-5 in the paint.

The Spurs have actually done a great job neutralizing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander throughout this series. His 37.9 percent from the field and 26.1 percent from three in these Conference Finals are the lowest he’s ever shot in a playoff series in his career.

In OKC’s three wins, two of them (Games 3 and 5) saw Shai take a double-digit amount of free throws (12 in Game 3, 17 in Game 5). The other win, Game 2, saw him be aggressive in both the mid-range (7-of-11) and in the paint (10 attempts). So either way, Shai has to remain vigilant on his drives in order to help his team win games. He certainly did not do that on Thursday night.

So it comes down to Saturday night: Game 7 for a trip to the Finals. Legacies, glory, and pride are all on the line here. I really think it comes down to which team — namely their stars — will be more aggressive for 48 (or more) minutes. The Thunder and Spurs are both smart, hyper-competitive teams, so hopefully Game 7 plays out more like Game 1 and less like Games 2 through 6.

My reflections on a pivotal Tuesday night matchup in Oklahoma City…

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Entering the 2025-26 NBA season, I had no reason to doubt that the Oklahoma City Thunder were capable of repeating as champions. Their 24-1 start to the campaign only bolstered my opinion. Then along came the San Antonio Spurs.

First it was San Antonio’s 111-109 victory over OKC in their epic battle in the NBA Cup Semifinal. Then, it was the back-to-back Spurs wins over the Christmas holiday. OKC got their lick back in a mid-January win, only for the Spurs to take their final regular season meeting in February by ten points.

At 1-4, San Antonio was the only team Oklahoma City had a losing record against in 2025-26. So once the playoffs came around, I couldn’t help but ponder if the Thunder had met their match? Game 5 on Tuesday night leads me to believe that the answer is “not yet”.

This Western Conference Finals series has been the tussle we’ve all expected, but tonight’s game certainly spoke to the importance of having deep playoff experience.

The Spurs, after trouncing OKC on Sunday, really didn’t have the same energy and focus in this game. It’s like they used all their energy to tie the series up, only to be gassed when the time came to take back the series lead.

Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox had matching 4-of-15 field goal performances tonight, and neither could sink a three-pointer on the nine attempts between them. Wembanyama in particular seemed fairly sluggish. He went a brutal 4-of-9 in the paint, a crime for a player that is capable of dunking from outside of the restricted area!

He didn’t attack the basket consistently and wasn’t getting up and down the floor all that quickly. We all know that Victor is a competitor, so this definitely felt like a young player that is not used to getting this far into a NBA postseason and has run out of gas. The growing pains of a young star.

Conversely, the Thunder stepped up to the moment. After an uncharacteristic Game 4 — their 82 points was the fewest they’ve scored in the playoffs since 2020 — OKC knew they needed to snap back quickly.

The first key to victory was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s 32 points. This was a big bounce-back after dropping just 19 on Sunday. On Tuesday, he was able to work his way back to the free throw line, going 16-of-17 from the stripe. Those 17 attempts ties a 2026-playoff-high, which he last notched in Game 1 of the First Round.

Secondly, the rotation players came together and hit some timely three-pointers. OKC collectively went 14-of-32 from outside, with standout performances from Alex Caruso (4-of-8), Jared McCain (3-of-9, 3-of-7 in the second half), and Kenrich Williams (2-of-2).

Third, the Thunder frontcourt crashed the boards incredibly well. Isaiah Hartenstein pulled down 15 rebounds, Chet Holmgren grabbed 11, and even Jaylin Williams got four in 17 minutes. Meanwhile, Wembanyama was held to just six boards and Luke Kornet had just one in eight minutes off the bench. Instead, Julian Champagnie paced the Spurs with eight rebounds. Just great interior aggression from the Thunder on Tuesday night.

Certainly, a series can change complexion from game-to-game. The Spurs could absolutely turn around and win Game 6 on Thursday. But based off of what I witnessed in Game 5, San Antonio would have to dig deep from within to pull it off. Tuesday’s game felt like the difference between a team that knew what time it was and a team that still has plenty to learn on their quest to becoming champions.