BBNBA Playoffs: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drops 32, Thunder take Game 5

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looked into the camera after Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals and said, “[Tonight], I might have had the worst start to a basketball game in my career.” That’s not exactly how OKC fans want to hear their best player and league MVP describe his performance in a pivotal game, but SGA was honest about himself. He later continued that sentiment, “If there were four of me on the court to start the game, we would have been down by 20 after the first quarter.”

Of course, there’s a “but” coming.

“But [my teammates] were great to start the game…this team doesn’t have success without all 15 guys.” Despite Gilgeous-Alexander struggling early from the field and turning the ball over multiple times, the Thunder led the Spurs by two points after one quarter due to the stellar play of his supporting cast. One of those guys who stepped up was Cason Wallace, who finished with a game-high +29 in the plus-minus category to go along with nine points. The Thunder slowly extended their lead as SGA found some rhythm. They ultimately defended home court and came away with a 127-114 victory over the Spurs, taking a 3-2 series lead.

Gilgeous-Alexander may have started slow, but he finished the night with a game-high 32 points, 16 of which came from the charity stripe. Do you hear that sound? That is the aggressive typing on a keyboard of an SGA hater calling him a foul merchant. The other sound is the roar of the OKC crowd changing, “MVP!”

On the losing side of the scoreboard, De’Aaron Fox continued to play big minutes while looking far less than 100 percent. He shot just 4-15 on Tuesday and finished with nine points. Meanwhile, Keldon Johnson played well for the Spurs, scoring a solid 15 points. Unfortunately, he was the only spark off the bench, and it wasn’t enough.

The series will return to Texas on Thursday, giving Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder a chance to close it out and stamp their place in the Finals, where Karl-Anthony Towns is waiting.

BBNBA Statistics 5/26/2026

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	P/M	MIN
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)	127-114 W vs. SAS	32	7-19 (2-3)	2	9	2	1	6	+8	37
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	114-127 L vs. OKC	15	7-13 (1-4)	4	2	0	0	2	+3	20
De’Aaaron Fox (SAS)	114-127 L vs. OKC	9	4-15 (0-4)	4	8	3	0	1	-10	33
Cason Wallace (OKC)	127-114 W vs. SAS	7	2-5 (1-3)	4	5	2	0	0	+29	31

This week in the NBA Playoffs

TIME/TV	MATCHUP	SERIES
Thursday, May 28 8:30 p.m. ET | NBC/Peacock	(1) Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander, Wallace) @ (2) Spurs (Fox, Johnson)	West Conf. Finals: SAS leads 3-2